A song by popular Japanese boy band M!LK has unexpectedly given Italian students a new way to confess their love. The track, Suki Sugite Metsu!—roughly meaning "I love you so much I could die"—is apparently winning hearts in Italian classrooms.
A Japanese artist who teaches the language at an Italian school recently shared the story on X／Social Media. After a student asked what "suki sugite metsu" meant, he explained the phrase—only for several boys to immediately turn to their girlfriends and use it as a heartfelt declaration of love. The girls were delighted, and the hilariously sweet scene left the original poster laughing until his stomach hurt. The post quickly went viral, with Japanese users amazed that such an over-the-top song title could sound genuinely romantic in Italy.
The teacher behind the post was Yoshiyasu Tamura, a manga artist and painter who teaches in Italy. When his students asked what the Japanese phrase "suki sugite metsu" meant, he told them: "It means you love someone so much that you feel like you could die."
After hearing the explanation, several boys immediately turned to their girlfriends with completely serious expressions and declared, "Suki sugite metsu." Their girlfriends loved it. The unexpected turn of events left Tamura laughing so hard his stomach hurt.
The post sparked plenty of reactions online, with many users calling the whole scene adorable. Some joked that "I love you so much I could die" sounds almost like a curse—but when delivered by an Italian with a completely straight face, it suddenly becomes far more romantic. One English-speaking user said Tamura had not simply taught his students a Japanese phrase; he had accidentally created an entirely new cultural phenomenon across the school.
Others suggested that the phrase had effectively become Italy's newest pickup line.
Another user noted that the phrase sounds especially romantic when pronounced with a Spanish accent.
Of course, M!LK's Suki Sugite Metsu!, released last October, was already a major hit in Japan, with its music video surpassing 140 million views on YouTube.
Now, an unexpected bit of Japanese-Italian cultural exchange has turned the phrase into an overseas talking point—and even a new piece of youth slang. It may sound outrageously cheesy, but for European fans, that unfamiliar brand of dramatic affection might be exactly what makes it so charming.
▼ M!LK—Suki Sugite Metsu! Music Video