Note that I am not a native Spanish speaker, but I have had several years of formal university study, about twenty years experience visiting and living in Spanish-speaking countries Mexico and Colombia , and three serious romantic relationships with native Spanish speakers during that time. So, when referring to people, both amar and querer are the main verbs used in Spanish-speaking cultures to mean "to love" but with different connotations. Most of the time the verb querer is the word for "to love" in a romantic relationship.
For example, " Yo quiero a mi esposa ", meaning "I love my wife", or " Pablo quiere su novia ", "Pablo loves his girlfriend". In others it is reserved for family, especially between parent and child or between siblings. In some cultures it's seen as an old-fashioned word you'd only use in soap operas or historical romance novels, or when writing love poetry or proposing marriage.
Before using amar you should know what the special meaning and connotations are in the Spanish-speaking culture you are in! When talking about religious love or special devotion, the verb adorar is often used as well. But it can also be used for an exaggerated sense of love, like in English we might say "Oh my love, I adore you! But when talking about loving a person, querer should be your go-to word unless you have a good reason to use amar. Since querer also means "to want", if you actually want to say "I want that person " use desear.
If I say Paula, te deseo , I'd better be ready for her to come home with me. So basically, when referring to people, amar generally means a stronger, more committed "to love" than querer.
Another way to "tone down" the relationship is to use gustar , which in the context of people, means to like someone but don't forget how gustar works, so you say Me gustas to mean "I like you". On the other hand, amar can also express a more idealistic sense of caring for someone a lot without the romantic attachment. When my fiancee of 3 years broke up with me, she said, " Te amo pero no te quiero.
Which brings us to a good way to differentiate between the "love" verbs -- when you see querer referring to a person, think of it not as "love" but "being in love", and that may clarify the meaning in your mind. We aren't "in love with" family members or religious figures, so we don't use querer for them.
Although also note that another expression for "being in love" in Spanish is estar enamorado de alguien. Literally, "Paula is enamored with Juan. Related to that, the expression we use in English "to fall in love" is typically expressed in Spanish with the verb enamorarse de.
Hope this helps people talk about love in Spanish without getting into trouble! Of course, native speakers especially from cultures other than the ones I'm familiar with are welcome to elaborate with the particulars of how "love" words are used in their Spanish.
It Implies that you want to take care of that person in a romantic way. It's stronger than "Te quiero".
Maybe countries closer to the states have some transference in their culture. Bottom line, when speaking to a person you are dating "I love you" means more for US people I don't know in UK than for spanish, but that has nothing to do with the translation you choose. So, as I see it, the translation of "I love you" is "Te quiero" BUT if you want to include in the translation the deeper meaning of what is happening when a person says "I love you" in the US in a relationship you will need more than "Te quiero" and it's then when you hear "Te amo" even though it is not common in spanish And, as said before, sounds corny.
In the movies the translation they use for "I love you" is always just "Te quiero". Germany, German, English, Spanish. Sidd said:. I would also like to say that a lot of this depends on the inflection and the cultural situation.
Quick note on Argentina: For example, I have seen people on the forums say that Argentina does not use Amar that much, and not between friends. But I am certain that when we threw a birthday party for my friends, she did not say Te quiero , sino Te reeeeeee amooooooo.
The general explanation is that between lovers , there are three phases. Gustar, Querer, Amar. Amar, is love, flat out. That said, it really really really depends on context. This is between lovers, but between friends, for example, which a person uses really depends on that person.
As anyone that has been to a foreign country for a while will tell you, often hard and fast rules are anything but. Friends that are girls are often more expressive. En fin, los matices son infinitos Un saludo para todos. Not as it would in the US if you said "I love you" to your date.
Saludos Cantante. Fernando Senior Member Madrid. From my naive? The success of Sid's friend not Sid, of course was partly due I assume to the fact that girls really believed his friend was actually in love with them. Disco tactics aside, saying "Te quiero" means a lot.
Fernando said:. Disco tactics aside , saying "Te quiero" means a lot. I was just trying to make a point there. The fact someone uses this sentence as "disco tactics" loved that and that someone falls for it, shows my point. Guess it didn't come out right jejejejejejeje The fact that "Te quiero" means a lot doesn't mean my previous post is wrong. It's not that important for me.
I didn't have to spend any time thinking wether or not should I tell my girlfriend "the L word". It was pretty clear Actually, now that I come to think of it, Why do you, english people out there, make such a big deal of something like that saying "I love you" for the first time? Good evening, I'm somewhat in agreement with you, cantante. In my own personal experience, having lived here in Canada most of my life, I still find it somewhat difficult to use "the L word" with just anyone.
I'd say it would have to be someone I felt I was ready to make a committment to, or if they're family members or people I've grown up with. I probably wouldn't just walk up to one of my best friends, regardless of how strong our friendship is, and tell her the "L word", because it seems to have a seriousness about it. Un saludo.
But now to the Spanish way, Sidd. Tell us all about it! Im new, so please forgive me if I sound lost.
My girlfriend is from Mexico, but speaks very good English. In English there is no middle. For me, I must continue to say to her how much I love spending time with her, because in English, I Love you Here are some examples. Te quiero mucho I love you very much.
Juan quiere a Elisa Juan loves Elisa. Here are some of the phrase structures you need to learn:. Quiero comer tacos y enchiladas I want to eat tacos and enchiladas. Quiero trotar 30 minutos diarios I want to jog 30 minutes daily. Here are some examples and the phrase structure we use in Spanish when we want to talk about the object we want. Te amo. I love you. They had met at the school door five minutes ago!
Te amo is also used very often to express romantic love in songs and poetry:. On the other hand, te quiero is a more relaxed way to express either romantic love or affection to family, friends, pets, etc. To confess to you that I love you , that I adore you, that you're everything to me.
Caption 3, Andy Andy - Maldito Amor. Te quiero mucho I love you so much is something you can and must say to your kids, your partner, your family, and yourself on a regular basis:. And at this moment, do you know what I want to do? To spend my days with my grandpa.
I love you a lot. Captions , Yago - 4 El secreto - Part But when can't you say te quiero? Well, here's an interesting tidbit.
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