How to Say I Love You in Greek

Written by Greek Boston in Learn How to Speak Basic Greek Comments Off on How to Say I Love You in Greek

No matter which language you’re thinking of, there is inevitably going to be a word or phrase that expresses the idea of “love”. When two people care for one another, they usually say the equivalent of “I Love You” in the corresponding language. The Greek language is no different, but love is looked at as a bit more complex of an emotion than we might realize. Here’s a look at how to tell someone that you love them in the Greek language, as well as some of the different ways that love is expressed.

Saying I Love You in the Greek Language

There are different situations where you might wish to tell someone that you love them. Here’s a look at the possible scenarios:

• You’re in a romantic relationship and you want to express your feelings of love towards your partner.
• You want to tell a friends or family members that you love them.
• You’re feeling a general sense of love towards someone or something and want to express that idea.

In the Greek language, there are several different verbs that express love. Each of these verbs have a slightly different connotation:

αγάπη – agapi – unconditional love

This verb is used most often when it comes to expressing your love for someone, especially from a romantic sense. However, the love felt when using this verb doesn’t need to be considered romantic. However, it most often refers to the love that is considered to be unconditional. If you want to tell someone you love them in this context, you would say, ”

• Σε αγαπώ (σ’ αγαπώ) – se agapo (s’agape) – I love you

ἔρως – eros – romantic love

If you want to express a feeling of pure, romantic love, you would use the verb ἔρως – eros. Although people in a romantic relationship could feel unconditional love, that isn’t necessarily the case. If you want to express the romantic nature of your feelings, this is the verb you would use.

φιλία – filia – brotherly love

Although you can also love your friends unconditionally (αγάπη), there is also a special verb that expresses the type of love that you feel for them. φιλία (filia), which means brotherly love, is the verb that is used in this situation. In fact, Philadelphia, known as the City of Brotherly Love, is named after this verb.

Even though there are some common verbs that are used to express love, most people just say Σε αγαπώ (σ’ αγαπώ) – se agape (s’agape) to tell someone directly that they love them.

The Learn Greek section on GreekBoston.com was written by Greeks to help people understand the conversational basics of the Greek language. This article is not a substitute for a professional Greek learning program, but a helpful resource for people wanting to learn simple communication in Greek.

Categorized in: Learn How to Speak Basic Greek

This post was written by Greek Boston