If you have friends or relatives in Italy and haven’t seen them in a long time, here’s an expression that you might find useful.
Today we’re going to see how to say I miss you in Italian.
There aren’t many ways to say it. In fact, there’s only one phrase.
However, it is worth spending a few words about it. Let’s get started!
A few premises
So, although there’s just one way to say “I miss you” in Italian, there are a few things to say before.
As usual, I prefer explaining the logic behind a given expression rather than having you learn a couple of words without context.
1. The first thing to know about how to say “I miss you” in Italian is that the subject changes.
While in English it is “I“, Italians focus on the person whose absence they feel, so the subject switches to “you“.
Consequently, “I miss you” becomes more or less something like “You are missed by me“.
2. Also, you should know that Italians distinguish between second-person singular and second-person plural, which are respectively tu and voi.
3. And ironically, the third thing to know is that you can omit the subject.
This is a very common thing in Italian.
In many cases, you don’t need to specify personal pronouns, because some other words and verbs clarify which person you are referring to when you speak.
This time, the subject is specified by the verb mancare (“to be missed”/”to lack“) which is conjugated as follows:
- Io manco
- tu manchi
- lui / lei manca
- noi manchiamo
- voi mancate
- essi mancano
With all that in mind, how do you say “I miss you” in Italian?
How to translate “I miss you” to Italian?
The right way to say “I miss you” in Italian is: mi manchi.
Mi manchi tantissimo. Non vedo l’ora di tornare da te.
I miss you so much. I can’t wait to get back to you.
The literal translation would be (tu) mi manchi, but as you’ve read above there’s no need to specify the subject.
Anyway, is this phrase good if you’re speaking to a group of people? Does it have a formal counterpart?
If you look at the rules above, you’ll find that the answer was there all the time.
Plural and formal forms
If you’re speaking to a group of people, you must use the second-person plural, so “I miss you” translates as “(voi) mi mancate“.
Mi mancate un sacco, ragazzi. Non vedo l’ora di tornare in Italia!
I miss you a lot, guys. I can’t wait to be back in Italy!
And what about formal situations?
Well, when speaking formally, Italians replace the 2nd person singular with the feminine 3rd person singular. In other words, tu becomes lei. And (tu) mi manchi turns into (lei) mi manca.
However, it’s not usual to miss someone you’re not acquainted with, so it’s very unlikely you’ll need this last phrase in real life.
How to say “I miss you too”
When someone tells you they miss you, it’s only natural to reply “I miss you too”.
In Italian, this “I miss you too” translates to “Anche tu mi manchi“.
This time, you can’t omit the subject, as the word anche (“too“) requires to specify a pronoun or an object.
Go tell your loved ones how much you miss them
It’s important to let people know how much they mean to you. And if you’re apart for some reason, now you know how to say “I miss you” in two languages.
Keep checking this blog to learn new useful Italian words and phrases. Ci vediamo la prossima volta!
If you want to learn more Italian, try out our Italian course Ripeti Con Me.
One Response
“I believe it’s ‘Mi manchi’ in Italian. Such a beautiful way to express how much you long for someone’s presence!”