The timing depends on the person and the relationship. You don’t say “Te Amo” when dating someone… That’s a big “NO”….įirst, you say “Te Quiero”, then you say “Te Amo”…. If you say “te amo” too quickly the other person might freak out and run away! In Spanish, we don’t say “Te amo” in the first stage of the relationship. In English, you might say “I love you” in the early stage and also when the relationship is established. The tricky part is when you move from dating someone to having a more serious relationship with that person. It’s usually used between couples, and you can also say it to any member of your family if you feel like it. When you say it, you really, really mean it. It’s a declaration of deep love for a person. “Te amo” is a more profound phrase, and it also means I love you, but it is way more intense than “te quiero”. Here some examples with the verb “Querer”: In Colombia, friends and relatives frequently say “te quiero mucho” to one another. A person you have feelings for, a person you are dating but just haven’t quite reached the next level of your relationship with. Family members (using te quiero or te amo with family depends on your preference).You can use “querer” with the following people: Let’s say “querer” is the light version of “amar”. “Te quiero” expresses affection it doesn’t have a romantic or intimate connotation like “te amo” does, and it has a lighter sense of love and care. QuererĬommonly, “querer” expresses wants and desires, as in the following examples:īUT…when we are talking about feelings and relationships “querer” is a common way to say “I love you”. First you say “Te quiero” (I love you), after some time together you’d say “Te amo” (I love you).It depends on who you are saying it to.It depends on your feelings for that person.If you want to tell someone you love them in Spanish, what would you say “te amo” or “te quiero”? The question of when to say “Te quiero” and when to say “Te amo” is a big source of confusion for people learning Spanish. Have you noticed we have two different words for “Love”? You start to have feelings for that person (Me gustas > Me encantas > Te quiero > Te amo > Te adoro) Gustar > Encantar > Querer > Amar > Adorar When we talk about romantic love, the progression of a relationship goes typically like this: We don’t love a person just like that, from one day to another, do we? Well, in Spanish we have defined words and expressions for each level of love. But we also don’t want people to freak out when we tell them our feelings…

In Spanish, we don’t want to be short on words for expressing our love. You might not use it too frequently, you don’t say it to everyone, and you don’t say it at an early stage of your relationship, right? In English, You say “I love you” to express love and affection. It would be boring, don’t you think? “I Love You” Spanish is such a rich language, and we couldn’t just say “I love you” for any occasion or any person. Of course, these qualities should also be expressed with words… (and you know, we are good at that as well!).įor us, it’s essential to tell our beloved ones how much we care about them, how much we treasure them, and how much we love them. Yes, that’s how Colombians are… Warm, loving and affectionate! Unlike Valentine’s Day, which mainly focuses on romantic love and relationships, on “Love and Friendship Day”, we express love and affection to our closest people, all of them! This includes our date or partner, family members, friends, and even colleagues and classmates. We celebrate “Día del Amor y la Amistad” (Love and Friendship Day). In Colombia, we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day like the rest of the world.

I love it in spanish