Is brea liom tú

and

Is aobhinn liom tú

both mean "I love you" unless I'm mistaken. But is there any subtle difference in meaning?? When would you use one and not the other??

GRMA

I would translate both of those as "I like you". Breá is equivalent to "fine", "nice" and aoibhinn is "delightful", "pleasant". So literally it's like saying, "You're fine with me" or "You're delightful to me", respectively.

For "I love you" in a romantic sense I would say Tá grá agam ort. (I think most people would say duit instead of ort.)

Yes, that's right


Yes, both work (in both cases, you're addressing just one person, not several):
Tá grá agam ort
Tá grá agam duit

I'm not certain, but i think ort is likelier to be heard in the North, as it is in the Scottish Gaelic Tha gràdh agam ort.

_________________
I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

I learned "I love you" as "Tá grá agam duitse" using the emphatic form of "duit" to place the romantic or significant feeling into the expression. Literally, it means "I have love (in my heart) for you." And it does use the Irish language's idiom for expressing possession, using the prepositional pronouns constructed from "ag".

I understand there are many other ways of saying "I love you" in Irish, but this one is certainly my favorite.

Dale D

I can't see myself ever using "breá" (don't forget the fada!) in this way to refer to another person. It's usually reserved for "I love" as in "I love pizza," or "I love New York."

There are tons of possible ways to say "I love you" to a person in Irish, including:

Tá grá agam duit
Tá grá agam ort
Mo ghrá thú
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat (lit. "My heart is within you")

DaleD: I wouldn't use the emphatic unless I were responding to someone saying "I love you" to me.

Redwolf

I’d add another possibility: táim i ngrá leat (‘I am in love with you’). Not sure how often it’s used, though, and I am not sure if it’s not a béarlachas – but if so, an old one, as it is listed in Dineen’s.

That would be used in the very specific circumstance of being in love, yes. Not something you'd use to say "I love you" to your granny, though!

Redwolf