In Italian you would say "ti amo" to a significant other. When talking about a person you may want a relationship with you would say "mi piace" (I like him/her)

In Italian you would say "ti amo" to a significant other. When talking about a person you may want a relationship with you would say "mi piace" (I like him/her). If you're referring to a friend or a relative, you would say "ti voglio bene" (which is a different connotation of "I love you"). If you're talking about something, you would say "mi piace" (as in "mi piace il cioccolato" -> "I like chocolate") unless you really like it, in which case you can as well say "amo il cioccolato" ("I love chocolate") or "adoro il cioccolato" ("I adore(?) chocolate").