Uhoubboka or Uhoubboky
The first word is addressed to a man
The second is usually addressed to a woman

You use the first one if you speak to a man and youuse the second one is you speak to a woman.
I hope it helps you.
Yacine.

This eternal expression is the most asked about in the English>Arabic sub-community on ProZ.com, but no one has asked about it since December 11, 2000, so your question came in good time.

My search for past KudoZ questions about “I love you” yielded 5 separate instances between September 1, 2000, and December 11, 2000. A search under the word “love” yielded a much more extensive list: Here are the links to all the pages where you can find all the previous answers to the same question:

September 1, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=11389


September 13, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=13028


September 17, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=13755


September 21, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=14523


November 19, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=22189


December 11, 2000: http://www.proz.com/h.php3?bs=1&id=24611


I don’t think any of the present active members of this sub-community will have much to add to what has already been said on the subject. In my present answer, I will in essence be recapping previous answers.

As you can see, the basic answer is the same: UHIBBUK (one word, mind you). When written in Latin characters, it may appear sporting different sets of vowels, as each one of us is trying to approximate the Arabic vowel set to you.

UHIBBUK is so basic you can address it to a male or a female. You can even address it to God. If you want to be gender-specific, you add “A” for a male or “I” for a female at the end. Other inflections would apply when addressing more than one person.

The only complicating factor is that you said you wanted it written out in Latin characters. That tells me that you are interested in learning how to use it in a spoken context, and therein lies a problem.

The problem is that UHIBBUK and all of its gender-specific and number-specific variations belong to the written language, not the spoken language. The written language (often called “classical Arabic”) is the language of formal discourse, not everyday conversation. Spoken Arabic comes in not in one form, but in many dialects that are wildly divergent, mostly according to region. Most of the variations affect the gender specification. The female ending is usually the regional telltale sign. This is indicated either by a change in the way the final K is pronounced (substitute sounds include CH, SH, and TS), a change in the vowel preceding the final K, or both. The other differences mostly involve the first and second vowels. In some regions, the sound “B” (usually, but not always, followed by a vowel) is added at the beginning of the word. It is hard to tell you which regional variation to use without knowing the region whose dialect you want to imitate (in my town, for instance, you would say AHUBBOK to a male, but that would be laughable in other regions).

Now, there is no harm in saying, “I love you” in classical Arabic. It has a universal appeal and an aura of respectability to boot. Your interlocutor will understand and most probably appreciate your effort in learning how to say it. He may even teach you his favorite region-specific version.

A final note: If you look back at the archived answers, you will see additional suggestions, besides UHIBBUK. These suggestions carry slight semantical hues that make them suitable for some situations but not all.

For instance: AHWAK is suitable only for romantic love, and its deeper meaning is closer to “I fancy you.” It is common in romantic lyrics.

MUGHRAM BIK, also suitable for romantic talk, is closer to “infatuated with you.”

One can never tire talking about this subject. I hope this is helpful.

Fuad

Rather than the less romantic "uhibbuk"