verb
filamō
Strong’sG5368
I love, kiss
stem fil-25 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books12 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
φιλέω means to love — to feel affection or friendship for a person, marked by warmth of feeling rather than mere duty 12. It is used of love for people (a child, a friend, a family member) and can also take an object that is a thing rather than a person, meaning to be fond of or delight in something 13. Abbott-Smith and Strong's both distinguish it from ἀγαπάω: φιλέω denotes personal attachment and sentiment or emotion, whereas the other word covers love shown as a matter of will, judgment, duty, and principle 12. LSJ likewise records this as its basic sense, love or regard with affection, as opposed to hate, used of the love of gods for men, of a master for a servant, of parents for children, and of one friend for another 3.
The word also means to kiss, as a physical sign of affection or greeting, with a person as the object 1234.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
φιλέω, -ῶ
(< φίλος), [in LXX: Ge 27:4, 9, al. (אהב), ib. 27, al. (נשׁק), La 1:2 (רֵעַ) Wi 8:2, al.;]
SYN.: ἀγαπάω ω (q.v.), the love of duty and respect
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G5368 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidfil-eh'-o
to be a friend to (fond of (an individual or an object)), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while G25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as G2309 and G1014, or as G2372 and G3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specially, to kiss (as a mark of tenderness)
Fromfrom G5384;
King Jameskiss, love.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Aeolic dialect φίλημμι Refs 7th c.BC+; 2nd pers. singular φίλησθα Ead.22; late 3rd.pers. plural φίλεισι Refs 2nd c.AD+: Boeotian dialect φίλειμι Hdn.Gr.Refsinfinitive φιλήμεναι Refs 8th c.BC+: Ionic dialect and Epic dialect imperfect φιλέεσκε Refsfuture φιλήσω, Epic dialect infinitive φιλησέμεν Refs 8th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἐφίλησα Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.: perfect πεφίληκαRefs:—middle, poetical Refs aorist ἐφῑλάμη; 3rd.pers. singular ἐφίλατο, φίλατο, Refs 8th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. plural φίλαντο Refs 8th c.BC+; subjunctive φίλωνται Refs 8th c.BC+; but φίλατο as passive, Refs 3rd c.BC+; also participle φιλάμενος Refs —passive, future middle φιλήσομαι in passive sense, Refs 8th c.BC+: future 3 πεφιλήσομαι Refs 3rd c.BC+: aorist ἐφιλήθην Refs 5th c.BC+: Epic dialect 3rd.pers. plural ἐφίληθεν Refs 8th c.BC+: perfect πεφίλημαι Refs 5th c.BC+; Doric dialect participle πεφιλᾱμένος Refs 3rd c.BC+. [ῐ exceptin the forms ἐφίλατο, φῑλατο, etc.]: (φίλος):— love, regard with affection, opposed to μισεῖν, Refs 5th c.BC+; (on its relation to sexual love see below 3); of the love of gods for men, φ. δέ ἑ μητίετα Ζεύς Refs 8th c.BC+; πέρι γάρ μ᾽ ἐφίλει (of the love of the master for his swineherd) Refs 8th c.BC+; of love for a child reared, Refs 8th c.BC+; ὅσα θεοὶ ἀνθρώποις οὓς φιλοῦσιν [διδόασιν] Refs 1st c.BC+; οἱ φιλοῦντές τινα his friends, frequently in messages and letters, NT+1st c.BC+, etc.; φιλεῖν ἐμαυτήν, αὑτόν, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, to be beloved by one, ἐκ Διός Refs 8th c.BC+; τινι Refs 5th c.BC+
2 treat affectionately or kindly, especially welcome, entertain a guest, Refs 8th c.BC+; θεὸς (i. e. Calypso) ἥ με.. ἐφίλει τε καὶ ἔτρεφεν Refs; τίς ἂν φιλέοντι μάχοιτ; who would quarrel with a kind host? Refs; etc.:—passive, παρ᾽ ἄμμι φιλήσεαι welcome shalt thou be in our house, Refs 8th c.BC+
3 opposed to ἐρᾶν, τούτους μάλιστά φασι φιλεῖν ὧν ἂν ἐρῶσι regard with affection those for whom they have a passion, Refs 5th c.BC+; εἰκὸς τὸ φιλεῖν τοὺς ἐρωμένους Refs 4th c.BC+; but φ. is used of lovers, ἥ γ᾽ Εὐρυμάχῳ μισγέσκετο καὶ φιλέεσκεν Refs 8th c.BC+; of the love of man for wife, ὅς τις ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς.. τὴν αὐτοῦ φιλέει (cherishes her) καὶ κήδεται ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ τὴν ἐκ θυμοῦ φίλεον Refs 8th c.BC+; τὴν αὐτὸς φιλέεσκεν loved and cherished as his wife, Refs; but ἐμὲ.. ἀτιμάζει, φιλέει δ᾽ ἀΐδηλον Ἄρηα (Hephaestus speaks of Aphrodite) Refs 8th c.BC+
3.b of sexual intercourse, Refs 5th c.AD+
4 show outward signs of love, especially kiss (not in Refs 8th c.BC+ kiss on the mouth, opposed to τὰς παρειὰς φιλέονται, NT+5th c.BC+ the kiss wherewith she kissed him, Refs 2nd c.BC+ —middle, τὰς παρειάς kiss each other's cheeks, Hdt. [prev. cited]
5 of things as objects of love, like, approve, σχέτλια ἔργα Refs 8th c.BC+; τὰς λευκοτάτας [μάζας] Refs 5th c.BC+
6 of things as the subject, ἡσυχία δὲ φιλεῖ συμπόσιον Refs 5th c.BC+
7 in making a request, οἶσθ᾽ ὁτιὴ φιλῶ σ᾽ ἐγώ, κἀμοὶ πιθόμενος ὑπαποκίνει τῆς ὁδοῦ Refs 5th c.BC+; so τί πράσσει Φηλικίων ὁ ἀγαθό; φιλῶ σε pray, how goes it with the worthy Felicio? Refs 3rd c.BC+ (but rather 'I speak as a true friend').
II after Refs 8th c.BC+, with infinitive, love to do, be fond of doing, and so to be wont or used to do, φιλέει ὁ θεὸς τὰ ὑπερέχοντα κολούειν Refs 5th c.BC+; rarely with participle for infinitive, φιλεῖς δὲ δρῶσ᾽ αὐτὸ σφόδρα Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 of things, events, etc., αὔρη ἀπὸ ψυχροῦ τινος φιλέει πνέειν Refs 5th c.BC+ of what usually happens, ἀπὸ πείρης πάντα ἀνθρώποισι φιλέει γίνεσθαι everything comes to man by experience, Refs 5th c.BC+; without γίγνεσθαι, οἷα δὴ φιλεῖ as is wont, Refs 5th c.BC+
II.3 impersonal, φιλέει δέ κως προσημαίνειν (i.e. ὁ θεός), εὖτ᾽ ἂν.. Refs 5th c.BC+; ὡς δὴ φιλεῖ.. λόγον ἔχειν ἀνθρώπους as it is usual for.., Refs 1st c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| filamōφιλῶ | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | love | 3× |
| filasōφιλεῖς | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | love | 3× |
| filatōφιλεῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | loves | 3× |
| filalōφιλοῦσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | love | 2× |
| filateἐφίλει | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | loved | 3× |
| filavēπεφιλήκατε | has happened · yeperfect active indicative 2nd person plural | loved | 1× |
| filameiōφιλῶ | happening now · Ipresent active subjunctive 1st person singular | love | 1× |
| filameiaφιλήσω | happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular | kiss | 2× |
| filaraφιλῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | kiss | 1× |
| filarōntosφιλῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | loves | 4× |
| filarōntoinφιλοῦντας | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine | love | 1× |
| filarōntoiuφιλούντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | love | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 15 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | filamō3×φιλῶ | filame | filami | filama | filamē | filamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | filasō3×φιλεῖς | filase | filasi | filasa | filasē | filaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | filatō3×φιλεῖ | filate3×ἐφίλει | filati | filata | filatē | filatelē |
| we 1st person plural | filanō | filane | filani | filana | filanē | filanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | filavō | filave | filavi | filava | filavē1×πεφιλήκατε | filavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | filalō2×φιλοῦσιν | filale | filali | filala | filalē | filalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 3 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | filameiō1×φιλῶ | filameia2×φιλήσω | filameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | filaseiō | filaseia | filaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | filateiō | filateia | filateiē |
| we 1st person plural | filaneiō | filaneia | filaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | filaveiō | filaveia | filaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | filaleiō | filaleia | filaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | filasōr | filasar | filasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | filatōr | filatar | filatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | filavōr | filavar | filavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | filalōr | filalar | filalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | filamoiō | filamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | filasoiō | filasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | filatoiō | filatoia |
| we 1st person plural | filanoiō | filanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | filavoiō | filavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | filaloiō | filaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | filarō | filari | filara1×φιλῆσαι | filarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 6 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | filarōntos6×φιλῶν | filarintos | filarantos | filarēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
fil is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
25 occurrences, every one of them listed
filamō“love”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular3×
John 21:15… auto; Nai, kurior, sis oidasē hoti filamō sin. legatō auto; Boskasōr teim arnieim …… Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
John 21:16… auto; Nai, kurior, sis oidasē hoti filamō sin. legatō auto; Poimanasōr teim probateim …… Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My …
John 21:17… panteim sis oidasē, sis gnōskasō hoti filamō sin. legatō auto tos Iēsus; Boskasōr …… things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed …
filasō“love”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular3×
John 11:3… pros auton legarōntais; Kurior, ide hon filasō asthenatō.… to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
John 21:17legatō auto tem tritem; Simōnor Iōannou, filasō min? lupita tos Petros hoti legata …… Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that …
John 21:17… Petros hoti legata auto tem tritem; Filasō min? kai legata auto; Kurior, panteim …… him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things …
filatō“loves”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular3×
John 5:20tos gar patros filatō ton huion kai panteim deikatō auto …The Father loves the Son and shows Him all …
John 16:27autos gar tos patros filatō vin, hoti vis min filavē kai …For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me …
1 Corinthians 16:22ei tinos ouk filatō ton kurion, atōr anathemem. Marana thasar.If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under …
filalō“love”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural2×
Matthew 6:5… ouk evi hōs tois hupokritois; hoti filalō en tai sunagōgai kai en tai …… be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues …
Matthew 23:6filalō de tan prōtoklisian en tei deipnei …They love the places of honor at banquets …
filate“loved”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular3×
John 11:36legale oun tois Ioudaiois; Ide pōs filate auton.… the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
John 15:19… ave, tos kosmos an tem idiem filate; hoti de ek tou kosmou ouk …… were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the …
John 20:2… kai pros ton alloson mathēton hon filate tos Iēsus, kai legatō autoi; Airala …… other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out …
filavē“loved”has happened · yeperfect active indicative 2nd person plural1×
John 16:27… patros filatō vin, hoti vis min filavē kai pisteuavē hoti mis para tou …… Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I …
filameiō“love”happening now · Ipresent active subjunctive 1st person singular1×
Revelation 3:19mis hosoin ean filameiō elenchamō kai paideuamō; zēleuasōr oun kai …Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be …
filameia“kiss”happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular2×
Matthew 26:48… dōata autoi sēmem legarōntos; Hon an filameia autos atō; kratavar auton.… signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him.”
Mark 14:44… auton sussēmem autoi legarōntos; Hon an filameia autos atō; kratavar auton kai apagavōr …… signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and …
filara“kiss”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
Luke 22:47… proerchote autoin, kai engizata to Iēso filara auton.… the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him.
filarōntos“loves”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine4×
Matthew 10:37tos filarōntos patron ē mētēran huper min ouk …Anyone who loves his father or mother more than …
Matthew 10:37… ouk atō mu axios; kai tos filarōntos huion ē thugatran huper min ouk …… not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than …
John 12:25tos filarōntos tan psuchan autou apolatō autan, kai …Whoever loves his life will lose it, but …
Revelation 22:15… fonevois kai tois eidōlolatrois kai pantos filarōntos kai poiarōntos pseudem.… murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
filarōntoin“love”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine1×
Titus 3:15… tois meta mu pantois. aspazesar toin filarōntoin nin en pistia. tas charitas meta …… send you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be …
filarōntoiu“love”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Luke 20:46… toiu thelarōntoiu peripatarō en stolai kai filarōntoiu aspasmoin en tai agorai kai prōtokathedriain …… around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the …