How we express love differs from one culture to another, and from one language to another. Here’s a Spring Spanish video (a language learning platform I co-founded) where teacher Cory explains the difference between te quiero and te amo:
That’s why, while English makes extensive use of the verb “love” to refer to all types of love: love to our couples, to our friends and family, our hobbies, or our pets,Spanish offers a huge array of words and expressions depending on who or what we love, and in what degree.
What can I say: the Latin world oozes passion 😉
Today we will explore the many options we have to sayI love you in Spanish, we’ll learn what to say to our significant other since the moment we meet them until we’re totally lost in love.
1. Romantic Love in Spanish
We don’t usually feel the same for a person when we first meet them that after a couple of dates, months, or years; and the richness of the Spanish language reflects that in its vocabulary. Take a look at this chart:
From ‘Me caes bien’ to ‘Te adoro’: Expressing love in Spanish
| 1st date | 2nd date | 1 month | 2 months | 6 months | 1 year |
| Me caes bien. I like you. | Me gustas. I like you. | Me encantas. I like you a lot. | Te quiero. I love you. | Te amo. I love you. | Te adoro. I adore you. |
When we meet someone and we really enjoy hanging around with them, we can express this by saying “Me caes bien” or “Me agradas”. This means that you enjoy their company without showing any extra commitment.
A step forward from here is “Me gustas”. You’d say this if you’re attracted to the other person physically and maybe emotionally too.
Yet, if after a while you feel more connected to this person, you can say “Me encantas”, meaning“I more than like you, I really really like you”.
When you start having a feeling for them, you can move to “Te quiero”, but be careful because this phrase takes the relationship to another level. You don’t say “te quiero” just because.
Once you know that they are the one, and that you want to be with this person forever, you will finally say “te amo”.
“Te adoro” is a great phrase to emphasize the love you feel; it’s like“I more than love you, I really really love you.”
2. The Degrees of Love in Spanish
Depending on how intense our love is, we can use intensifiers to emphasize love in Spanish:
The degrees of ‘I love you’ in Spanish
| Spanish (te quiero) | Spanish (te amo) | English |
|---|---|---|
| Te quiero | Te amo | I love you |
| Te quiero mucho. | Te amo mucho. | I love you very much. |
| ¡Te quiero tanto! | ¡Te amo tanto! | I love you so much! |
| Te quiero con todo mi corazón. | Te amo con todo mi corazón. | I love you with all my heart. |
| Te quiero con el alma. | Te amo con el alma. | I love you with all my heart. |
| Te quiero a morir. | Te amo a morir. | I love you to death. |
| Te quiero hasta el cielo ida y vuelta. | I love you to the moon and back. | |
| Te quiero hasta la luna. | I love you to the moon. | |
| Te quiero más que a mi vida. | Te amo más que a mi vida. | I love you more than my own life. |
3. What’s the Difference BetweenTe QuieroandTe Amo?
Both verbs can be used to sayI love you in Spanish, yet they are not always interchangeable. We can sayte quieroto our boyfriend or girlfriend, meaning that we love them, butte quierois not restricted to romance. We can also use this phrase to address our family, our friends and even our pets. So, if somebody tells youte quiero, don’t take it for granted that this person is in love with you!
Te amocarries a different connotation, the feeling is deep and intense. This phrase is definitely the one to say to your couple because it does carry a very romantic connotation. Yet, it can also express deep affection when used to address your immediate family and your best friends.
To remember how and when to use te quiero and te amo, sign up to our Conversation Based Spanish Chunking Starter Pack! By joining this program, you’ll get access to our Practice Worksheet Library, a 15-Page Spanish Chunking Lesson, and a 12-Week Study Plan.
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4. The Best Romantic Nicknames in Spanish
When we’re in love, we tend to call our significant one many different sweet names, like “my love”, “sweetie”, and so forth. Let’s learn a couple of romantic nicknames that you can turn to in case you fall in love with a Spanish speaker 😉
Romantic nicknames in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Mi amor | My love |
| Mi vida | My darling |
| Cariño | Darling |
| Mi cielo | Sweetie |
| Querido/Querida | My dear |
| Mi corazón | My heart |
| Mi alma gemela | My soulmate |
| Mi media naranja | My other half |
And while you’re at it, here’s another Spring Spanish video where teacher Paulisima demonstrates various Spanish nicknames for your significant other:
5. The Best Romantic Phrases in Spanish
Head over heels in love? The following chunks will come in handy to say love in Spanish in a particularly romantic way. Usethem wisely…
Romantic phrases in Spanish
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Estoy loco/loca por ti. | I’m crazy about you. |
| Me vuelves loco/loca | You drive me crazy. |
| Eres todo lo que siempre soñé. | You’re all I’ve ever dreamed of |
| Eres todo para mí. | You mean everything to me. |
| Quiero pasar el resto de mi vida contigo. | I want to spend the rest of my life with you. |
6. Express Your Love in Spanish: Learn the Essential Chunks to Start Speaking the Language!
“All you need is love” prayed The Beatles back in the 60s, and it is the one assertion that still stands today, and will most certainly remain so for at least a long, long time. Now, expressing our love is as important as feeling it. No matter where we come from, we all love to know that we are loved, right?
And with the chunks in this article, you can now start expressing your love in Spanish too!
Make sure to get your free Spanish Chunking Starter Pack, where I show you a 4-step method to learn Spanish without having to memorize word lists and grammar rules. It comes with tutorial videos for Conversation Based Chunking™, resource lists to get you started, and much more. Conversation Based Chunking™ is currently being used by hundreds of thousands of students across the world with great results. If you want to get fluent in Spanish, I recommend you check out the free starter pack and start implementing the methodology in your studies 🙂
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