How to say I love you in Spanish: te quiero or te amo, and who you say it to
Spanish has two ways to say “I love you”, te quiero and te amo, and they are not interchangeable. Which one you use depends on who you are saying it to, how serious the relationship is and which country you are in. This page has both, the lines around them, and how to put them in a message.
The phrases
| English | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I love you | Te quiero. | To a partner, family, close friends. The everyday one everywhere |
| I love you | Te amo. | Stronger. Mostly partners, and in Latin America also family |
| I love you so much | Te quiero mucho. / Te amo mucho. | |
| I love you very much | Te quiero muchísimo. | |
| I love you loads | Te quiero un montón. | Spain, Argentina, Colombia |
| I love you loads | Te quiero un chorro. | Mexico, colloquial |
| I love you too | Yo también te quiero. / Yo también te amo. | |
| Me too | Y yo a ti. | Y yo a vos in Argentina |
| I love you more | Yo más. | The standard playful reply |
| I adore you | Te adoro. | Warm and a little lighter than te amo. Also to friends and children |
| I’m in love with you | Estoy enamorado de ti. / Estoy enamorada de ti. | Ending agrees with the speaker. de vos in Argentina |
| I’ve fallen in love with you | Me enamoré de ti. | Me he enamorado de ti in Spain |
| I like you | Me gustas. | Attraction, before love. Me gustás in Argentina |
| I’m crazy about you | Estoy loco por ti. / Estoy loca por ti. | loco por vos in Argentina |
| I miss you | Te extraño. | Mexico, Colombia, Argentina |
| I miss you | Te echo de menos. | Spain. Te extraño is understood there |
| You mean a lot to me | Significas mucho para mí. | Significás in Argentina |
| I love you with all my heart | Te quiero con todo mi corazón. | |
| You are the love of my life | Eres el amor de mi vida. | Sos in Argentina |
| I want to be with you | Quiero estar contigo. | con vos in Argentina |
Te quiero or te amo
Te quiero comes from querer, which also means “to want”. To a person, it means “I love you”, and it is what most people say most of the time. Parents say it to children, friends say it to friends, and couples say it every day.
Te amo comes from amar, and it is heavier. How heavy depends on the country.
In Spain, couples mostly say te quiero. Te amo is much less common in speech and can sound like a song lyric or a line from a telenovela.
In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, te amo is ordinary between partners once the relationship is serious. Saying it too early is the same mistake as saying “I love you” too early in English. Many families in Mexico and Colombia also say te amo to their children and parents, so te amo, mami at the end of a phone call is normal there.
For a learner, te quiero is safe with everyone you love. Keep te amo for a partner, when you both mean it.
What trips learners up
Querer to a person is love, to a thing is want. Te quiero is “I love you”. Quiero un café is “I want a coffee”. Te quiero ver or quiero verte is “I want to see you”, and you know the meaning from the verb after it.
Me gustas is attraction. Me gustas means “I like you, I fancy you”. It is how people say it before te quiero. Me gusta in the singular is for things: me gusta tu camisa.
The ending of enamorado is yours. A man says estoy enamorado, a woman estoy enamorada. The ending does not depend on the person you love.
De ti, not en ti. “In love with you” is enamorado de ti. Enamorado en ti is a learner mistake.
Echar de menos is Spain. Te echo de menos is what Spaniards say. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina it is te extraño, and Spaniards understand it.
Amo also means owner. El amo is the master or owner of a house or a dog.
Regional differences
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I love you (partner) | Te amo. or Te quiero. | Te quiero. | Te amo. or Te quiero. | Te amo. or Te quiero. |
| I love you (parent to child) | Te quiero mucho. or Te amo. | Te quiero mucho. | Te quiero mucho. or Te amo. | Te quiero mucho. |
| I miss you | Te extraño. | Te echo de menos. | Te extraño. | Te extraño. |
| I like you | Me gustas. | Me gustas. | Me gustas. | Me gustás. |
| You’re my everything | Eres mi todo. | Eres mi todo. | Eres mi todo. | Sos mi todo. |
| My love | mi amor, mi vida | cariño, mi amor | mi amor, mi vida | mi amor, gordo, gorda |
| Love you loads | Te quiero un chorro. | Te quiero un montón. | Te quiero un montón. | Te quiero un montón. |
Gordo and gorda in Argentina are warm pet names between partners and in families, and have nothing to do with weight in that use.
Cariño in Spain is used for partners, children, friends and sometimes by a shopkeeper to a customer. It is the Spanish “darling”.
In Colombia, mi amor and mi vida are also said to strangers by waiters and market vendors. It is friendly and not romantic.
To family and friends
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I love you, Mum | Te quiero, mamá. | Everywhere. Te amo, mami in Mexico and Colombia |
| I love you, Dad | Te quiero, papá. | |
| I love you all | Los quiero mucho. | Os quiero mucho in Spain |
| I love you, my friend | Te quiero, amiga. / Te quiero, amigo. | Common between friends, especially women |
| You’re like a brother to me | Eres como un hermano para mí. | Sos in Argentina |
| I’m proud of you | Estoy orgulloso de ti. / Estoy orgullosa de ti. | de vos in Argentina |
In Argentina, male friends often greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, and te quiero, amigo between men is not unusual.
Writing it in a message
| You want to write | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Love you | Te quiero. or tq | |
| Love you lots | Te quiero mucho. or tqm / tkm | tkm is common in Latin America |
| Kisses | Besos. or bss | The usual sign-off to friends and family |
| A kiss | Un beso. | To friends, family and partners |
| Little kisses | Besitos. | Warmer. Partners, family, close friends |
| A big hug | Un abrazo fuerte. | Friendly, and also to men |
| Take care | Cuídate. or Cuídate mucho. | Cuidate in Argentina, stress on the da |
| Thinking of you | Pienso en ti. | en vos in Argentina |
| Good night, my love | Buenas noches, mi amor. | |
| I can’t wait to see you | Tengo muchas ganas de verte. |
In a card, end with Con cariño, with love, or Con todo mi cariño. Un beso and besos are the way most messages to friends and family end, and they are not romantic. A card from a friend can be signed Te quiere, Ana, “Ana loves you”.
Valentine’s Day
Mexicans celebrate el Día del Amor y la Amistad on 14 February, the day of love and friendship, with friends as well as partners. In Spain 14 February is San Valentín, and in Argentina el Día de los Enamorados. Colombians celebrate Amor y Amistad on the third Saturday of September. In Catalonia, the romantic day is Sant Jordi on 23 April, when people give roses and books.
The words in real sentences
- Te quiero mucho, mamá. Nos vemos el domingo. I love you, Mum. See you on Sunday.
- Te amo, y quiero pasar mi vida contigo. I love you, and I want to spend my life with you.
- Te echo mucho de menos. I miss you a lot. (Spain)
- Te extraño un montón, ¿cuándo volvés? I miss you loads, when are you coming back? (Argentina)
- Creo que me estoy enamorando de ti. I think I’m falling in love with you.
- Te quiero. Yo más. “I love you.” “I love you more.”
- Me gustas desde el primer día. I’ve liked you since the first day.
- Buenas noches, mi vida. Un beso. Good night, love. A kiss.
- Los quiero mucho a todos. I love you all very much. (Latin America)
- Estoy muy orgullosa de ti, hijo. I’m very proud of you, son.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between te quiero and te amo? Te quiero is the everyday “I love you” for partners, family and friends. Te amo is stronger and mostly for a partner. In Spain te amo is much less common in speech. In Latin America it is common between couples and in many families.
Can I say te amo to a friend? It would sound romantic or dramatic in most places. Say te quiero or te quiero mucho. You can also say te adoro between close friends.
Does te quiero mean “I want you”? It can, in the right context, but said to a person on its own it means “I love you”. Native speakers do not hear it as “I want you”.
How do you say “I love you too” in Spanish? Yo también te quiero, or yo también te amo. Y yo a ti is also common. Yo más, “me more”, is the playful answer.
How do you say “I miss you” in Spanish? Te extraño in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Te echo de menos in Spain.
What does tqm mean? Te quiero mucho, I love you lots. It is common in messages between friends and family. Tkm is the same with a k.
How do you say “my love” in Spanish? Mi amor everywhere. Mi vida is also common, and cariño is the usual word in Spain.
Practise these words
querer, amar, amor, cariño, corazón, vida, extrañar, echar, enamorado, beso, abrazo, adorar. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.