Lucifer Quotes: 33 Famous Lines With Transcriptions, Phonetics and Show Insights
Yurii Rebryk · Updated · 13 min read
The most famous Lucifer quotes are Lucifer Morningstar’s signature question, “What is it you desire?”, his promise “I am a devil of my word” (season 3, episode 24) and “Because you f***ing shot me, Daniel!” (season 5, episode 12). Below are 33 lines from the Fox and Netflix series (2016–2021), each checked against episode transcripts or Wikiquote, with the scene, IPA for hard words and the idioms explained.
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In this article
- What is Lucifer’s catchphrase? “What is it you desire?” in numbers
- Lucifer Morningstar quotes on desire, truth and deals
- Lucifer and Chloe quotes: the love lines
- Dr. Linda Martin quotes: the therapy lines
- Maze, Amenadiel, Dan and Ella quotes
- Funny Lucifer quotes and one-liners
- Lucifer’s British English: the words that give him away
- Lucifer TV show facts: seasons, network, cast and origins
- Lucifer quotes from the Bible and Paradise Lost
- Frases de Lucifer: the English originals for Spanish speakers
- How to practise Lucifer quotes out loud
Jump to: catchphrase, desire and truth, Chloe, Linda, Maze, Amenadiel, Dan, Ella, funny lines, British English, show facts, shadowing.
How to read the tables: S3E24 means season 3, episode 24. Every line was found in the subtitle-based fan transcripts on Springfield! Springfield! (seasons 1–4) or on the episode-by-episode Wikiquote page (all six seasons); lines we could not find are left out. IPA is from Cambridge, UK first.
What is Lucifer’s catchphrase? “What is it you desire?” in numbers
Lucifer’s catchphrase is a question: he holds someone’s gaze, asks what they desire, and they tell him the truth. It never works on Chloe Decker, which is why he gets curious about her in the pilot. Across the 67 episodes of seasons 1–4, the question comes up 30 times in 26 episodes.
| Wording | Times (seasons 1–4) | Where to hear it |
|---|---|---|
| “What is it (that) you desire?” | 14 | “Tell me, Glenn, what is it you desire?” (S4E1) |
| “What do you desire?” | 7 | “What do you desire? Tell me and it’s yours.” (S2E9) |
| “What is it (that) you truly desire?” | 5 | “So what is it you truly desire now?” (S2E12, to Chloe, though it never works on her) |
| “What is it (that) you really desire?” | 2 | S3E1, to a man pointing a gun at him |
| “What do you truly desire?” | 2 | S3E21, when Linda turns the question on Lucifer |
The wording in Google’s AI summary, “What is it you truly desire?”, appears word for word only twice (S2E12 and S4E4). Method: our search of the fan transcripts above, recaps skipped; seasons 5–6 are not there, so they are not counted.
For learners: desire is UK /dɪˈzaɪər/, US /dɪˈzaɪr/, with the stress on the second syllable. Cambridge marks the verb as formal; in daily speech people say “want”. That formality is part of the joke.
Lucifer Morningstar quotes on desire, truth and deals
Lucifer Morningstar never lies, keeps every deal and blames humans for their own sins.
| Quote | Who and when | Scene | For learners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. “Tell me, Detective, what do you desire more than anything else in this life?” | Lucifer · S1E1 “Pilot” | His power fails on Chloe for the first time. | More than anything else = most of all. |
| 2. “I am a devil of my word.” | Lucifer · S3E24 “A Devil of My Word” | He keeps his promise to kill Cain, the immortal first murderer. | A twist on “a man of his word”, someone who keeps their promises. devil /ˈdev.əl/ |
| 3. Chloe: “I thought you didn’t lie.” Lucifer: “I don’t. But I don’t always tell the whole truth.” | S1E4 “Manly Whatnots” | Chloe challenges something he has just said. | The whole truth is from the court oath; Lucifer swears it in S2E10, ending “so help me Dad”. |
| 4. “A deal’s a deal, especially one with the Devil.” | Lucifer · S1E4 | He promised “no police” and will not break it. | A deal’s a deal = once you agree, you cannot back out. deal’s = deal is. |
| 5. “What I hate more than anything is a liar, a charlatan, someone who doesn’t believe in what they say.” | Lucifer · S1E2 “Lucifer, Stay. Good Devil.” | He frightens a street preacher who shouts about the Devil. | charlatan /ˈʃɑː.lə.tən/: a person who pretends to have skills or knowledge. |
| 6. “Why do they blame me for all their little failings? … I have never made any one of them do anything. Never.” | Lucifer · S1E6 “Favorite Son” | In therapy, after Linda calls his fall from Heaven a gift. | failing /ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/ = a weakness. He hates the excuse “The Devil made me do it.” |
| 7. “Guilt is such a useless emotion.” | Lucifer · S2E6 “Monster” | He comforts a crying woman in the case, then flirts with her. | guilt /ɡɪlt/: one syllable, the u is silent. |
| 8. “I take no part in who goes to Hell.” … “You humans. You send yourselves.” | Lucifer · S3E7 “Off the Record” | He tells a reporter a story he has “never told a human soul before”. | Take no part in = have nothing to do with. |
| 9. “If the Devil can be redeemed, then anyone can.” | Lucifer · S6E10 “Partners ’Til the End” | In the final episode, as Hell’s new healer. | redeem /rɪˈdiːm/ = save from sin. Pattern: if X can…, then anyone can. |
Lucifer and Chloe quotes: the love lines
Chloe Decker (Lauren German) is the one human Lucifer cannot read, and their lines move from teasing in season 1 to the last scene of the series.
| Quote | Who and when | Scene | For learners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. Chloe: “When Hell freezes over, Lucifer.” Lucifer: “I can arrange that, actually.” | S1E4 “Manly Whatnots” | Chloe has just said she will never sleep with him. | When hell freezes over = never. In S5E7 he asks if she is cold, “given that Hell was supposed to freeze over”. |
| 11. Lucifer: “I think you like me.” Chloe: “What part of the look on my face gives you that impression?” | S1E2 | Early in their partnership. | Sarcasm: a question that means “I don’t.” |
| 12. Chloe: “Lucifer Morningstar is many things, but he is not a liar.” | S2E10 “Quid Pro Ho” | On the witness stand, defending him. | X is many things, but… admits faults before a defence. |
| 13. Lucifer: “Yes. And I would do it again. And again. Don’t you know that, Detective?” | S4E2 “Somebody’s Been Reading Dante’s Inferno” | He took an axe meant for Chloe, though being near her makes him vulnerable. | Stress the repeat: and a-GAIN. The rhythm carries the feeling. |
| 14. Chloe: “Lucifer, you need to forgive yourself.” | S4E9 “Save Lucifer” | She sees that he blames himself more than anyone blames him. | forgive: UK /fəˈɡɪv/, US /fɚˈɡɪv/. |
| 15. Lucifer: “Hello, Detective.” Chloe: “I thought you could use a partner.” | S6E10, last lines of the series | Spoiler: Chloe joins him in Hell. | Could use = would benefit from. |
Dr. Linda Martin quotes: the therapy lines
Dr. Linda Martin (Rachael Harris) is Lucifer’s therapist, and at least one line that quote lists give to him is hers.
| Quote | Who and when | Scene | For learners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16. “People don’t have power over us. We give it to them.” | Linda · S1E4 “Manly Whatnots” | Lucifer asks why Chloe can resist his charm. | Google’s AI summary credits Lucifer, but Linda says it; he replies, “Right, go on.” |
| 17. “I find that people make Los Angeles their home for one of two reasons. Either they’re running from something, or looking for something.” | Linda · S2E9 “Homewrecker” | Lucifer admits this is his first real home. | Running from and looking for: same pattern, opposite meaning. |
| 18. Linda: “Have you ever considered that all of this excessive partying may be your attempt to fill a void?” Lucifer: “‘Attempt’? I filled five voids last night.” | S1E9 “A Priest Walks into a Bar” | A session about loneliness. | Fill a void = replace something missing; Lucifer takes it literally. void /vɔɪd/ |
| 19. Linda: “So I ask you, the Devil, what do you truly desire?” Lucifer: “I want her to choose me.” | S3E21 “Anything Pierce Can Do I Can Do Better” | Linda turns his own question on him; “her” is Chloe. | Short words, big moment: stress CHOOSE. |
Maze, Amenadiel, Dan and Ella quotes
| Quote | Who and when | Scene | For learners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20. “Surprise me.” | Maze · S1E5 “Sweet Kicks” | A barista asks how to spell “Mazikeen”. | Surprise me = do whatever you like. Lucifer gives Dan the same answer in the pilot. |
| 21. “Pain and suffering. Music to my ears.” | Maze · S5E6 “BlueBallz” | Linda and Amenadiel’s baby has cried all night. | Music to my ears = news you are glad to hear; the demon Maze means it literally. |
| 22. Amenadiel: “You are a mockery of everything divine.” Lucifer: “Thank you.” | S1E1 “Pilot” | His brother has come to take him back to Hell. | mockery: UK /ˈmɒk.ər.i/, US /ˈmɑː.kɚ.i/. divine /dɪˈvaɪn/ |
| 23. Amenadiel: “No matter how bad things get, the true test is how we choose to respond to the pain we suffer. Or inflict.” | S2E10 “Quid Pro Ho” | Talking with Chloe’s mother, Penelope. | inflict /ɪnˈflɪkt/ = to cause pain to someone. |
| 24. Amenadiel: “That you’re the only mortal who sees him… for who he truly is.” | S5E5 “Detective Amenadiel” | He tells Chloe her feelings for Lucifer are real. | mortal: UK /ˈmɔː.təl/ = a human, someone who will die. |
| 25. Dan: “I don’t know whether to laugh or to shoot you.” Lucifer: “Surprise me.” | S1E1 “Pilot” | Lucifer tells Dan off for arguing with Chloe in front of their daughter. | Whether to X or Y = cannot decide between X and Y. |
| 26. Lucifer: “Because you f***ing shot me, Daniel!” | S5E12 “Daniel Espinoza: Naked and Afraid” | Dan thanks him for a chaotic prank that helped him; Lucifer gives the real reason. | The aired line has the full F-word. Lucifer says “Daniel”; the others mostly say “Dan”. |
| 27. Ella: “Favors are about faith.” Lucifer: “Ugh. Please don’t ruin favors for me.” | S2E8 “Trip to Stabby Town” | Ella explains that a favor should be free. | US favor, UK favour. faith /feɪθ/: end on th, not f. |
Funny Lucifer quotes and one-liners
| Quote | Who and when | Scene | For learners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28. “Let me just check my calendar… the seventh of never through to the 15th of ain’t-gonna-happen.” | Lucifer · S1E1 “Pilot” | Amenadiel says Hell wants him back. | Made-up dates that mean never. Ain’t gonna happen = it will not happen (very informal). |
| 29. Chloe: “Is that, uh, a stage name or something?” Lucifer: “God-given, I’m afraid.” | S1E1 “Pilot” | Chloe hears the name Lucifer Morningstar for the first time. | I’m afraid here means “sorry to say”, not fear. |
| 30. “I’m like walking heroin. Very habit-forming. It never ends well.” | Lucifer · S1E1 “Pilot” | He warns Dr. Linda Martin, who cannot stop looking at him. | heroin /ˈher.əʊ.ɪn/ sounds the same as heroine. habit-forming /ˈhæb.ɪtˌfɔː.mɪŋ/ |
| 31. “I love L.A. Even the homeless have an IMDb page.” | Lucifer · S1E11 “St. Lucifer” | A man caught pawning a stolen ring says he is an actor between jobs. | L.A. = Los Angeles. IMDb is the film and TV database. |
| 32. “I have layers. I’m like an onion. An irresistible one.” | Lucifer · S1E8 “Et Tu, Doctor?” | Chloe is surprised he goes to therapy. | irresistible /ˌɪr.ɪˈzɪs.tə.bəl/: stress on ZIS. |
| 33. “I suppose what I call powerlessness is what everyone else calls a Tuesday.” | Lucifer · S5E7 “Our Mojo” | Chloe asks how it feels to depend on other people. | A Tuesday = an ordinary day. powerlessness /ˈpaʊə.ləs.nəs/ |
Lucifer’s British English: the words that give him away
Lucifer Morningstar speaks British English in an American city, and the contrast is part of the character. In the transcripts of seasons 1–4, bloody turns up 72 times in 46 episodes and whilst 24 times in 20 episodes. Four words to notice, with Cambridge’s labels:
| Word (IPA) | American English | Lucifer’s line | Cambridge label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mum /mʌm/ | Mom | “Who escaped Hell?” “Mum.” (S1E13). Amenadiel calls the same woman “Mom”. | UK informal |
| bloody /ˈblʌd.i/ | no exact match; a rude way to add emphasis | “I’m not angry. I’m bloody furious.” (S2E16) | mainly UK, very informal |
| whilst /waɪlst/ | while | “Would you excuse me whilst I do something less mind-numbingly boring…” (S4E7) | UK formal |
| snog UK /snɒɡ/ | make out | “…you haven’t even had a snog in ages, have you?” (S3E1) | UK informal |
Tom Ellis was born in Cardiff and grew up in Sheffield (Wikipedia). In season 5 he also plays Lucifer’s twin brother Michael, who speaks with an American accent, so you can tell the two apart by ear.
Lucifer TV show facts: seasons, network, cast and origins
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Based on | Lucifer Morningstar, the DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg in The Sandman; the series is a loose adaptation (Wikipedia). |
| Developed by | Tom Kapinos, who wrote the pilot; Len Wiseman directed it. |
| Run | January 25, 2016 to September 10, 2021: 6 seasons and 93 episodes (13, 18, 26, 10, 16, 10), per the episode list. |
| Fox to Netflix | Fox cancelled it after three seasons on May 11, 2018 (TVLine). After a #SaveLucifer fan campaign, Netflix picked it up on June 15, 2018 (Deadline). |
| Main cast | Tom Ellis (Lucifer, and Michael in season 5), Lauren German (Chloe Decker), Kevin Alejandro (Dan Espinoza), D. B. Woodside (Amenadiel), Lesley-Ann Brandt (Maze), Rachael Harris (Dr. Linda Martin), Aimee Garcia (Ella Lopez, seasons 2–6). |
| Filming | The pilot was shot in Los Angeles, seasons 1–2 mostly in Vancouver, then Los Angeles from season 3. |
| Music | Tom Ellis sings in several episodes; he has said the voice is his but the piano playing on screen is not. |
| Awards | Ellis won Best Bisexual Representation by a Lead Character (Male) at the Bisexual Representation Awards in 2017 and 2018; the series had a 2017 Saturn Award nomination for Best Fantasy Television Series. |
Lucifer quotes from the Bible and Paradise Lost
Searches for Lucifer quotes also bring up much older lines. The name comes from Latin for “light-bringing, morning star”, according to Oxford Learner’s (UK /ˈluːsɪfə(r)/, US /ˈluːsɪfər/), and the show’s surname Morningstar keeps that idea.
| Source | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 14:12, King James Version | “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” | Thou = you, art = are. Oxford Learner’s links the name Lucifer to this verse. |
| Luke 10:18, King James Version | “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” | Beheld = saw. |
| John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 1 (first published 1667) | “Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n.” | Satan speaks. In Milton’s spelling, “then” means “than”. |
Frases de Lucifer: the English originals for Spanish speakers
If you searched “frases de Lucifer”, keep in mind that dubbing and subtitles are separate translations, so one line often circulates in several Spanish wordings. Learn the English original; the Spanish below is our literal translation, not the official dub.
| English original | Literal Spanish (our translation) |
|---|---|
| “What is it you desire?” | “¿Qué es lo que deseas?” |
| “I am a devil of my word.” | “Soy un diablo de palabra.” |
| “A deal’s a deal.” | “Un trato es un trato.” |
| “People don’t have power over us. We give it to them.” | “La gente no tiene poder sobre nosotros. Nosotros se lo damos.” |
How to practise Lucifer quotes out loud
Shadowing means playing a short line, pausing, and saying it back with the same rhythm and stress; the English shadowing practice guide has the full method. The first drill uses Lucifer’s lines, the second lines from Linda, Chloe and Amenadiel, so you can compare a British and an American speaker in the show.
Lucifer’s lines (British English in the show)
B1–B2God-given, I’m afraid.
I don’t. But I don’t always tell the whole truth.
A deal’s a deal, especially one with the Devil.
I have layers. I’m like an onion. An irresistible one.
I am a devil of my word.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
Linda, Chloe and Amenadiel (American English in the show)
B1–B2People don’t have power over us. We give it to them.
Lucifer Morningstar is many things, but he is not a liar.
I find that people make Los Angeles their home for one of two reasons. Either they’re running from something, or looking for something.
No matter how bad things get, the true test is how we choose to respond to the pain we suffer. Or inflict.
Read it aloud
Listen to a model reading, then record yourself. You get your speaking pace, the share of words that came through clearly, and the words to repeat.
Record yourself and compare stress and pauses, not accent. For sounds that keep slipping, the English pronunciation practice guide has drills by first language, and the English speaking test shows where your speaking stands in four minutes. For more lines from TV, see The Rookie quotes, a series about the LAPD, and Money Heist quotes.
Say the line, then hear how it sounded
Fluently is an AI speaking coach for iOS and Android: you speak, and the app gives feedback on pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar. It is free to start: take a free AI speaking assessment to see your level, then practice with games that build your vocabulary and pronunciation. Conversations with your AI tutor come with Fluently Premium. Fluently is rated 4.8 on the App Store from 5.8K ratings (October 2026).
Frequently asked questions
What is Lucifer Morningstar’s real name?
In the series, his angel name is Samael. In S1E6 “Favorite Son”, Linda tells him that before he fell he “was known as Samael. The Lightbringer.”, and in S2E16 “God Johnson” a man who believes he is God says, “Now, that’s not the Samael I remember.” Morningstar is the surname he uses on Earth; the morning star is a planet, especially Venus, seen shining in the east around sunrise.
Why does Lucifer have a British accent?
Because the American version did not work. Tom Ellis, who is Welsh, told Radio Times that he tried Lucifer with an American accent and he “sounded like a d**k”, and that in America “if you’ve got a British accent you can get away with it”, as quoted by Looper in 2021.
Is Lucifer based on a comic book?
Yes, loosely. The character comes from The Sandman comics and later had his own Lucifer comic series from 2000 to 2006, in which he runs a piano bar called Lux in Los Angeles; the show turns Lux into a nightclub and adds the police partnership with Chloe (Looper, 2021). The comic Lucifer was drawn to look like David Bowie, and Bowie songs are used in the series.
In which episode does Lucifer say “I am a devil of my word”?
The famous version is in season 3, episode 24, which is named after it: “A Devil of My Word”. An earlier form comes in S3E4 “What Would Lucifer Do?”: “And who am I if I’m not a devil of my word?” Both play on the idiom “a man of his word”.
Is Hazbin Hotel’s Lucifer the same character?
No. Hazbin Hotel is an adult animated musical created by Vivienne Medrano for Prime Video, where Lucifer Morningstar, voiced by Jeremy Jordan, is the king of Hell and Charlie Morningstar’s father. The Lucifer on this page is the live-action character Tom Ellis plays, so Hazbin Hotel lines are not included.
