As you may know, Spanish is a notably romantic and passionate language. There are many ways to express love, care, appreciation, and affection for someone.
Many of these expressions are used romantically but love can also be expressed to family members, friends, animals, objects, and moments.
If you are interested in learning how to express your love for someone, keep reading to find out 10 ways to say “I love you” in Spanish.
Te amo
To start, the most direct way to tell someone you love them is by using the words te amo. Amo is from the verb amar, which means to love.
In English, it’s common to say “I love you” to friends and people you care for. In Spanish, you would reserve te amo to express love for your family and romantic partners, not so much your friends.
Te amo sounds a little intense, so you wouldn’t say it to someone you recently started a romantic relationship with. Instead, it’s more common to say it to a partner with whom you are deeply in love and have a serious long-term relationship.
Below are some phrases that are commonly added to te amo.
- Te amo con toda mi alma. (I love you with all my soul.)
- Te amo con todo mi corazón. (I love you with all my heart.)
- Te amo hasta al fin del mundo. (I love you to the end of the world.)
- Te amo con todas mis fuerzas. (I love you with all my strength.)
- Te amo de aquí a la luna y de regreso. (I love you to the moon and back.)
- Te amo más que nada en el mundo. (I love you more than anything in this world.)
- Te amo con locura. (I love you madly.)
- Te amo sin control. (I love you without control.)
- Te amo sin frenos. (I love you without breaks.)
Fun Fact: You can also use the verb amar to express your feelings towards things or objects. For example, Amo los atardeceres (I love sunsets) or Amo esta canción (I love this song).
Te quiero
Te quiero translates to “I want you” but it doesn’t necessarily mean that. It’s a complicated phrase to explain, but it’s the most common one to use to let someone know you love or care for them.
Te quiero does in fact mean I love you, but it’s a much lighter version that feels less intense or strong. It’s the safest phrase to use with someone you just started a romantic relationship with and are not ready to say te amo to. However, even once you start using te amo with your romantic partner, te quiero is still the most commonly used phrase to express your love even years into your relationship.
You can also use te quiero with friends, family, and people you care for a lot. You can say te quiero mucho to say I like you a lot.
Here are some phrases to add to te quiero:
- Te quiero con toda mi alma. (I love you with all my soul.)
- Te quiero con todo mi corazόn. (I love you with all my heart.)
- Te quiero hasta al fin del mundo. (I love you to the end of the world.)
- Te quiero con todas mis fuerzas. (I love you with all my strength.)
- Te quiero infinito / infinitamente. (I love you infinite/infinitely.)
Note: Te quiero is not equivalent to I like you, which is the light version of I love you in English. I like you translates to me gustas which will be explained in the next point.
Me gustas / Me gustas mucho
Similar to I like you in English is the phrase me gustas or me gustas mucho (I like you a lot). This phrase is used to tell someone you are romantically interested in them but you’re not ready to express deep love for them yet. You can say these words when you want someone to know you are interested in a relationship with them.
Te adoro
Te adoro is the translation for I adore you and is a more direct expression of affection towards someone you care for significantly. Adoro is the first-person singular of the verb adorar, meaning to adore.
It’s a phrase that is more commonly used once you are in a romantic relationship with someone but it can also be used as a statement to tell children, friends, and pets that you adore them.
Me encantas / Me fascinas
Me encanta without the ‘s’ means I love to or I like to in English and refers to something you like or love to do. A Spanish example would be Me encanta comer which translates to I love eating. However, if you are referring to someone, and you say Ella me encanta, instead of translating to I love her, the translation changes slightly and becomes She fascinates me or She enchants me.
To say it directly to the person you like, you add the ‘s‘ and say Me encantas. This phrase is used with a romantic partner whether it’s the beginning of or years into the relationship.
Note: This phrase is an even lighter version of te amo and te quiero if you are not yet ready to say either of those two phrases, but still want to express that you like someone a lot.
Estoy enamorado / enamorada de ti
Estoy enamorado / enamorada de ti is a confession of love. It means I am in love with you. The former is used by men, and the latter by women. It’s common to use this phrase when first confessing love to someone you are romantically interested in. However, it’s normal to continue using it at the beginning stages of the relationship to remind the person you are in love with them. You can also say Estoy perdidamente enamorado/a de ti which means I am lost in love with you.
Estoy loco por ti / Estoy loca por ti
Equivalent to telling someone Estoy enamorado/a de ti, you can say Estoy loco/a por ti. It means I am crazy for you or I am madly in love with you and it’s a declaration of love for someone you deeply care for romantically. If you are a man, use loco, while women should use loca. Two other ways to say this phrase include:
- Me vuelves loco/loca. (You make me crazy.)
- Me tienes loco/loca. (You have me crazy.)
Cheesy Ways to Say “I Love You” in Spanish
As mentioned previously, Spanish is an extremely romantic language and it’s quite common to profess your love using excessively extravagant phrases in a romantic relationship. Indeed, some of these phrases can be quite cheesy!
Eres mi…
Eres mi… means you are my… and is followed by many different endings to tell the other person you care for them. Here are some of the most common phrases to tell your beloved you love them using eres mi:
- Eres mi todo. (You are my everything.)
- Eres mi mundo. (You are my world.)
- Eres mi alma gemela. (You are my soulmate.)
- Eres mi media naranja. (You are my other half > literally “my half-orange”)
- Eres mi razόn de vivir. (You are my reason to live.)
Note: These are all especially common to use at the beginning stages of a relationship when you want to tell someone how much you love them.
Mi corazόn….
When falling in love, you can express to the other person what your heart feels for them. Here are a couple of ways to say I love you using the words mi corazόn:
- Mi corazόn late por ti. (My heart beats for you.)
- Mi corazόn es tuyo. (My heart is yours.)
No puedo vivir sin ti / Me muero por ti
No puedo vivir sin ti is I can’t live without you in English and Me muero por ti is I’m dying for you. Both these romantic phrases are quite strong and intense but it is not rare for couples falling in love or couples in long-distance relationships to say them. To express your profound love and how much you need them in your life, these are the phrases to use with your loved one.
If you prefer, you can say te necesito which means I need you. Or, te necesito en mi vida for I need you in my life.
Final Thoughts
By now you should be ready to tell someone you love them! Most Spanish speakers are open to expressing and receiving love with the phrases mentioned in this post. Don’t worry about sounding cheesy!
