By Anna Maria Last updated:
In Spanish, there are many ways to say “I love you.”
In fact, there are several terms of endearment that can be used to express affection, but which you use depends on the situation and how close you are to someone.
Let’s look at the options for expressing love in Spanish!
Contents
- How to Say “I Love You” in Spanish
- Te Quieroor Te Amo?
- Add More Emphasis to “I Love You” in Spanish
- 10 More Ways to Say “I Love You” in Spanish
- Te amo más hoy que ayer pero menos que mañana.(I love you more today than yesterday but less than tomorrow.)
- Eres mi media naranja. (You are my half orange.)
- Te quiero tanto. (I love you so.)
- Te adoro.(I adore you.)
- Te necesito. (I need you.)
- Me vuelves loco.(You drive me crazy.)
- Eres mi alma gemela.(You are my soul mate.)
- Mi corazón late por ti. (My heart beats for you.)
- Este corazón es tuyo.(This heart is yours.)
- La vida estaría vacía sin ti. (Life would be empty without you.)
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How to Say “I Love You” in Spanish
There are basically two ways to say “I love you” in Spanish.
Te quiero (this literally translates as “I want you” but it’s used to say “I love you.”)
Te amo
With only two ways to say this phrase, the choice should be simple, right?
You’d think so—but it’s not as easy as you’d imagine.
Te Quieroor Te Amo?
The most important thing to remember is that these terms are not interchangeable. That is, they’re not suitable for everyone on your love list!
And although there are only two main ways to say “I love you,” there are many other ways to express your love. Which expression should you use?
In Spanish speaking culture, the degree of familiarity or affection determines how you express love.
Let’s cover when to use each expression:
- Te quierois used among family members and friends. It’s the less “serious” expression that’s also safe to say when you’re just dating someone. It’s perfect for uncommitted relationships!
- Te quierois also used between lovers sometimes—but in a private setting, if you catch my drift…
- Te amoencompasses romantic love and is expressed between spouses and engaged couples. It’s the heavy-duty, no-holds-barred way to state your love for someone.Te amois definitely not for friends or siblings!
If you’re interested in how Spanish speakers express affection for one another, I recommend watching Spanish shows for an extra dramatic way to learn expressions of love (and hatred and whatever feeling you reserve for the long-lost twin who you thought was dead but was really living a secret life with your ex).
If you’d rather learn with shorter clips, the FluentU language immersion program might be a good option in place of a full TV show.
This app and web program lets you practice the phrases from this post in context with authentic, short Spanish videos—that cover everything from music videos to news reports—with interactive captions.
You can review what you learn with flashcard decks and personalized quizzes, and look up words and phrases in the contextual video dictionary.
There’s also pronunciation practice on the iOS and Android app, so you can perfect “te quiero” before using it on your pareja(partner).
Add More Emphasis to “I Love You” in Spanish
Power up “I love you” to “I love you lots” by addingmucho (very or a lot) to either phrase.
But remember Spanish sentence structure if you’re heating up and keep muchoat the end of the sentence. That applies to both phrases and to both singular and plural forms.
Te amo→Te amo mucho(I love you→ I love you very much)
Los amo→Los amo mucho(I love them→ I love them very much)
Te quiero→Te quiero mucho(I love you→ I love you very much)
Los quiero→Los quiero mucho(I love them→ I love them very much)
10 More Ways to Say “I Love You” in Spanish
Fortunately, Spanish provides an assortment of other expressions used to declare love. Actually, there are a lot of them—and some are super sweet!
So how do you go beyond the basic declaration? Consider these:
Te amo más hoy que ayer pero menos que mañana.(I love you more today than yesterday but less than tomorrow.)
This is super romantic, isn’t it? I mean, wouldn’t you just melt if someone special murmured this expression to you?
Eres mi media naranja. (You are my half orange.)
The literal translation on this one doesn’t seem especially romantic, but when someone says “Eres mi media naranja,” they’re actually saying “You’re my other half.”
In other words, this expression says that the other person completes you or that together you make a whole.
I’ve heard this one all my life. No, I’m not anyone’s other half but my tía y tío (aunt and uncle) say this to each other every single day. So sweet!
Te quiero tanto. (I love you so.)
This is a variation ofte quiero mucho(I love you very much) that’s tender and loving.
A fabulously popular song by Carlos Vives and Shakira called “La Bicicleta”(“The Bicycle”) makes good use of the expression.
Consider this bit of the song to see just how beautiful te quiero tanto(I love you so) can be:
“Que te sueño y que te quiero tanto
Que hace rato está mi corazón
Latiendo por ti, latiendo por ti…”
(“That I dream of you and that I love you so much
That for a while my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you…”)
Te adoro.(I adore you.)
This declaration of love is used not only by lovers but by parents toward their children as well. I’ve seen many madres (mothers) pull their babies onto their laps and croon, “Te adoro.”
Te necesito. (I need you.)
“Te necesito”is a popular song by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It’s hot and steamy—exactly the way you’d expect this declaration to be portrayed.
There are lots of beautifully romantic Spanish songs, not just this one. Check some out for even more learning opportunities!
Me vuelves loco.(You drive me crazy.)
Me vuelves loco is one of less serious and more lighthearted Spanish love phrases!
Have you ever seen someonedriven to distraction by another person’s quirky ways or their silly antics? This is the expression that covers that kind of relationship!
This phrase has another meaning that’s a bit steamier. When whispered behind closed doors, the expression is a declaration that’s beautifully intimate.
Eres mi alma gemela.(You are my soul mate.)
The idea of being someone’s soul mate?
¡Muy romántico! (Very romantic!)
Mi corazón late por ti. (My heart beats for you.)
This is one of the ultimate Spanish declarations of love, an admission that the reason one person is alive is that their heart beats from loving another so much. (Just like in those lyrics from“La Bicicleta.”)
Este corazón es tuyo.(This heart is yours.)
Another declaration of undying love.
Definitely don’t expect to hear this one on a first—or even a 10th!—date.
La vida estaría vacía sin ti. (Life would be empty without you.)
This may be one of the most definitive expressions of love, not only in Spanish but in any language.
Professing that an entire life would be devoid of meaning and purpose without another person? Wow! Spanish really does go big on sincere declarations of love!
Spanish is a beautifully romantic language with lots of ways to express almost any degree of love for nearly any person.
Use that versatility to your advantage and appreciate your family, friends or romantic partner.
Show the love like a true Latin lover—and watch it come back to you!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
