Can it be confirmed that this translation from English to Italian is correct?
I love my beautiful mother = Amo la mia bella madre.
It's for a tattoo so it is important that the translation is correct.
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Welcome to ItalianSE!– abarisoneDec 3, 2019 at 13:15
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2The translation is basically correct; but I'd go with "Amo la mia bellissima madre" or "Amo la mia splendida madre". Maybe you can also change "madre" with "mamma" (madre/mamma has the same difference between mother/mom in English).– Riccardo De ContardiDec 3, 2019 at 13:29
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1While correct, as the other comment says, it sound somehow stilted. I can't imagine an Italian sporting a tattoo with that phrasing. Were they so in love with their mother and tattoos, they'd probably phrase it, for instance, Mamma ti amo (“Mom, I love you”) or Mamma ti voglio bene (a slightly different nuance).– DaGDec 3, 2019 at 14:04
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1Yes it is correct, but as Italian it sounds pretty bad. I would say: "Mia madre è bellissima e le voglio tanto bene", but maybe is too long for a tattoo, as others said better to cut "beautiful"– Stefano BalzarottiDec 6, 2019 at 15:18
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1Benvenuto su Italian.SE, @StefanoBalzarotti! Speriamo altri tuoi contributi su questo sito!– Charo ♦Dec 6, 2019 at 18:37
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2 Answers
Awkward. Go for
Mamma ti amo
or
Ti voglio bene mamma
and drop the beautiful part because love + mom + beautiful in the same sentence = total awkwardness if you're older than 6. Yeah, also in Italy. :-)
Technically it is a correct translation of the English sentence you entered but the problem is what message you want to deliver and its interpretation:
Though the sentence is somewhat common in the English language, to an Italian ear it is pretty strange. First of all because of its impersonal value: the sentence seems addressed not directly to your mother but most to a friend or shouted to the whole world. So because you are talking about a tatoo, is it sure you want to keep the sentence impersonal? It could be received as a little bit stilted or smug as someone said or on the contrary as affectionate and sympathetic by others.
Also notice that because of the Oedipus complex it would be really odd if expressed by a son, more acceptable if expressed by a daughter but still a bit ambiguous.
Actually nobody in Italy will express the literal translation you posted.
For a message that is personally addressed to the mother I would suggest:
- Ti amo mamma
- Mamma ti voglio bene
If you want to mantain the impersonal original form I would suggest:
Amo la mia bellissima mamma.
Notice that both "bella" and "bellissima" in Italian are really aesthetic concepts. An Italian will commonly use other adjectives referring to the mother for example if they want to express how proud they are about their mother they would say something that in English would sound "I love my strong and caring mother" which goes to underline the goodness (an inner quality) and at the same time the gratitude one can have for the mother. That's because in the Italian culture mother is nearly a sacred concept strongly connected with ethic. At least traditionally speaking.
So unfortunately one thing is the translation from English and another thing is the meaning you want to deliver in a complex language like Italian.
There would be a lot to say about when choosing "madre" and when choosing "mamma". Shortly: "madre" is more about the role and it sounds somewhat bureaucratic or on the other hand legendary as in "The Great Mother". "Mamma" is more personal and may define better the existing emotional relationship between daughter and mother or son and mother.
In my opinion "Amo la mia bellissima mamma" would be acceptable or even nice for a daughter as well as "Ti amo mamma" which would be more popular but also more banal.
