Free Spanish Lesson #27 – To Want or To Love

If any of you have taken Spanish in school, you probably learned the phrase “I love you” as being “Te amo.”

When I arrived in Latin America and lived in various regions for about two years, I heard many family members say to each other “Te quiero” instead of “Te amo.”

These two phrases basically mean the same thing in Spanish. However, if you translate “Te quiero” literally into English, it means, “I want you” which has a very different meaning than “I love you.” I would never say “I want you” to a family member in English.

There is a bit of a difference between “te quiero” and “te amo” in Spanish (both mean “I love you” not “I want you.”) A native speaker explained to me that “te quiero” is a more casual expression of love and that “te amo” is a more heartfelt, deep love that may be used between a married couple for example.

Moral of the Story: In different parts of the world, love may be expressed differently, but it is still usually the same feeling.

¡Qué le vaya bien! (May everything go well for you!)

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.