The meaning of "Te quiero, Te amo"

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AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Ok so since this was brought up in mars/venus I thought it would make a good topic.

When to use these and to whom. I know when to say "te amo"

What if you like someone but you don't love them and they are only a friend?
How freely and often is te amo misused?
 

ESOLteacher

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Dec 14, 2004
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May I?

I believe that the following holds true outside of sankyrelated business:

te amo
te amo is heavy. you can wait six months, date and say TE QUIERO all the time, and call him/her MI AMOR, but the TE AMO is a new level.

I have never heard a friend ue TE AMO.

And....to water down TE QUIERO, I have actually heard TE QUIERO MUCHO. How about that?

I would never say TE AMO to a friend, and none of mine have ever said that to me, except after I wire money, of course. Joke! :)

I usually say and have heard someone just say TIENES GRANDE TU CORAZON, you have a big heart, as in you are a good friend, and leave it at that.

That's my two cents worth. Over and out..........
 
Nov 5, 2004
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I have said "Te amo" to some of my in-laws I am close with..and on the guys side at least, when I said it..I got a few raised eyebrows from my husband...

Not sure if that is inappropriate to use for male relatives (around my age)???

But techincally "Te Quiero" is more "I like you"...and "Te Amo" of course is "I Love you".

Although I have sometimes wondered since "Te Quiero" REALLY means I need/want you....I wouldn't say something like that to a friend in Canada!!!! I would rather say to a guy friend "luv ya" then "I want you"...cuz here that would have almost sexual connotations...

Comments?
 
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juancarlos

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Sep 28, 2003
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Te amo is what people who are in love say to each other. Te quiero is like saying you are very fond of that person. You have love for someone, but not necessarily in a romantic way. In Spanish, people rarely say te amo. Although it is used a lot in telenovelas, soap operas, and the like.

I should also mention here "me gusta". I know in English you say I like him very much or I like her and everyone understands what you mean. In Spanish, when you say " Me gusta mucho fulano" it implies attraction, sexual attraction. When a man declares " A m? me gustan las mujeres" he is saying he is attracted to women, not men, for example.

If someone asks you ?Te gusta ese hombre? if you are a woman the question means "Are you attracted to that man?

If you simply want to say you like someone in a non sexual way, you say: Me cae muy bien. Me cae bien tu hermano, etc. Of course, you may also say "Me gusta como habla" I like the way he talks, and then it is ok to use me gusta. When you are describing a quality a person has, then it is ok to use me gusta.

Me gustan las personas honradas. I like honest- upright- people.
 
Nov 5, 2004
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juancarlos said:
Te amo is what people who are in love say to each other. Te quiero is like saying you are very fond of that person. You have love for someone, but not necessarily in a romantic way. In Spanish, people rarely say te amo. Although it is used a lot in telenovelas, soap operas, and the like.

I should also mention here "me gusta". I know in English you say I like him very much or I like her and everyone understands what you mean. In Spanish, when you say " Me gusta mucho fulano" it implies attraction, sexual attraction. When a man declares " A m? me gustan las mujeres" he is saying he is attracted to women, not men, for example.

If someone asks you ?Te gusta ese hombre? if you are a woman the question means "Are you attracted to that man?

If you simply want to say you like someone in a non sexual way, you say: Me cae muy bien. Me cae bien tu hermano, etc. Of course, you may also say "Me gusta como habla" I like the way he talks, and then it is ok to use me gusta. When you are describing a quality a person has, then it is ok to use me gusta.

Me gustan las personas honradas. I like honest- upright- people.

Hmmm..now I am wondering..maybe it was the "te gusta mi tio." or "te gusta mucho mi hermano" instead of the "te quiero" that got the raised eyebrow..


Yes Larry..my husband taught me alot..but so did his uncle, brother and friends teach me while he was working...etc.

And silly as it sounds, sometimes I would rather ask them for advice (though their english is not so great...I teach them english while they teach me spanish)..because I would rahter speak the "proper"Spanish for my husband and surprise him. He is always excited about how quick I learn...he thinks i am just really smart..but really his family teaches me in secret!!! ;)
 

mofi

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Feb 9, 2005
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Note from Moderator:
For example mofi can say
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juancarlos

You took the words right out of my mouth. To further the "Te amo" I've been with my boyfriend for two years and I don't think i heard Te Amo until at least a year into the relationship maybe longer. It started off with te queiro and eventually changed to te amo, though sometimes he still says te quiero.
 
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miguel

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Jul 2, 2003
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If we are talking about a boy/girl, I want NOBODY to tell me "te quiero" after seeing me for a few days.

Now if they tell me "me agradas" or "me caes bien" which is more on the line of "I like you" then I would not run to the hills!.

Many, MAAAAAAAANY people do not know the difference between "te quiero" and "te amo".

Again, if talking about someone that you are seeing as a future partner, "Te quiero" means that the person is starting to have feelings for you. "Te amo" means that you already love the person. Not the same but it's only a matter of time before they become "twins".

Ps: do not confuse the above with the "te amo" and "te quiero" that one feels for a relative or a close friend.
 
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Badussy

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Feb 18, 2005
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Well i just got a call this morning and she said te quiero muchisimo. Plus the other day, when I was talking about one of my wives friends she said ella te quiere. I took it to mean she is fond of you or that she loves me as a person.
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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May I remind everyone that this isn't mars/venus therefore please don't give any relationship advice.


While slicing and dicing to get miguel's post over here it ended up in mars/venus. but I started it in Spanish 101

Carry on

Thanks
 
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AnnaC

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May I also remind everyone that we have this really nice huge "reply button" on the left hand side. Please don't use the one inside someone's post. It gets tiresome to see posts repeated over and over.

It should only be used if you wish to quote a sentence or two out of the long post.

Thanks
 

ricktoronto

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Jan 9, 2002
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Anna Coniglio said:
May I also remind everyone that we have this really nice huge "reply button" on the left hand side. Please don't use the one inside someone's post. It gets tiresome to see posts repeated over and over.

It should only be used if you wish to quote a sentence or two out of the long post.

Thanks

Hey good point. I hate those quotes. ;)
 

Angel_04

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Sep 20, 2004
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Te quiero mucho Anna C!!! (lol). heehee.

Just wanted to add my 2pesos... I always say "te amo" to my bf but would never say it to anyone else (except for family). *I know, I just reiterated what was already said! lol. Have a nice day all. ;)
 
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