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Deleted user
29 Mar 2020
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Question about Spanish (Mexico)
What is the difference between te amo and te quiero ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between te amo and te quiero ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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29 Mar 2020
Featured answer
- Spanish (Mexico)
This is a difficult question even for Spanish speakers. It depends on what you really feel. "Amor" is very deep and intense, it's also kind of romantic. "Querer" is less intense but it's still a way to express love. You can use "Amar" with your romantic partner or in situations when you need to show that you really love someone, e. g. hard times, to apologize, etc. We use querer in daily life among relatives and friends, in "normal situations".
For example:, you can say "Te amo" to your husband. But if you say that to your children it would sound exaggerated. You'd better say "Los quiero mucho" to your children. You can also tell them "Los amo" but just in specific cases, when you really need to show them that you do love them, like in the situations I mentioned above.
Another example: You can say "te quiero" to your sister, but if you tell her "te amo" that would sound sort of creepy, because it sounds like if you loved her in a romantic way, however, once again it wouldn't sound weird at all in those special cases (like: hard times, apologies, when you want to sound deep, etc), actually in those cases to say "te quiero" could mean that you don't care about her, so the most natural would be "te amo" and the romantic nuance would automatically disappear.
Nonetheless, in romantic situations this question is even trickier and more complicated, so I recommend you to listen to the song below so that you understand better the difference when they're used in romantic relationships, it's called "El Amar y El Querer" interpreted by the famous Mexican singer Jose Jose. I also leave you the translation to English.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a3...
Almost all of us know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar. It's that to amar and to querer aren't the same. Amar is to suffer, to querer is to enjoy and never to suffer. He who ama cannot think. He gives it all, he gives everything. He who quiere just pretends to forget and never cry and never cry. Querer can end soon end Amor doesn't know the end. It's that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar. Amar is heaven and light, amar is total fullness. It's the sea that has no end, It's glory and peace, It’s glory and peace. Querer is flesh and flower, it’s looking for the dark corner. It’s biting, scratching and kissing. It’s fleeting desire, it’s fleeting desire. Amar doesn’t know the end. It’s that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar The one who ama can’t think. He gives it all, he gives everything. The one who quiere wants to forget, and never cry, and never cry. Querer might end soon, amar doesn't know the end. It's that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar
Highly-rated answerer
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- Spanish (Mexico)
This is a difficult question even for Spanish speakers. It depends on what you really feel. "Amor" is very deep and intense, it's also kind of romantic. "Querer" is less intense but it's still a way to express love. You can use "Amar" with your romantic partner or in situations when you need to show that you really love someone, e. g. hard times, to apologize, etc. We use querer in daily life among relatives and friends, in "normal situations".
For example:, you can say "Te amo" to your husband. But if you say that to your children it would sound exaggerated. You'd better say "Los quiero mucho" to your children. You can also tell them "Los amo" but just in specific cases, when you really need to show them that you do love them, like in the situations I mentioned above.
Another example: You can say "te quiero" to your sister, but if you tell her "te amo" that would sound sort of creepy, because it sounds like if you loved her in a romantic way, however, once again it wouldn't sound weird at all in those special cases (like: hard times, apologies, when you want to sound deep, etc), actually in those cases to say "te quiero" could mean that you don't care about her, so the most natural would be "te amo" and the romantic nuance would automatically disappear.
Nonetheless, in romantic situations this question is even trickier and more complicated, so I recommend you to listen to the song below so that you understand better the difference when they're used in romantic relationships, it's called "El Amar y El Querer" interpreted by the famous Mexican singer Jose Jose. I also leave you the translation to English.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a3...
Almost all of us know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar. It's that to amar and to querer aren't the same. Amar is to suffer, to querer is to enjoy and never to suffer. He who ama cannot think. He gives it all, he gives everything. He who quiere just pretends to forget and never cry and never cry. Querer can end soon end Amor doesn't know the end. It's that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar. Amar is heaven and light, amar is total fullness. It's the sea that has no end, It's glory and peace, It’s glory and peace. Querer is flesh and flower, it’s looking for the dark corner. It’s biting, scratching and kissing. It’s fleeting desire, it’s fleeting desire. Amar doesn’t know the end. It’s that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar The one who ama can’t think. He gives it all, he gives everything. The one who quiere wants to forget, and never cry, and never cry. Querer might end soon, amar doesn't know the end. It's that we all know how to querer, but few of us know how to amar
Highly-rated answerer

Deleted user
For example, can a woman say te amo to a man? Even if they are not couples but just friends.
- Spanish (Mexico)
- English (US) Near fluent
@ohana_ ¡No! ¡Por favor no lo haga si solo son amigos!
Highly-rated answerer

Deleted user
Una mujer dice "te amo" a varios hombres. ¿Es algo que no se usa con frecuencia en México?
- Spanish (Mexico)
@@ohana_ No, you can't, maybe you can tell your best friend, But don't just say Te amo, if you do, you will imply that you are declaring your love. But if you want to say that just because you appreciate it so much, maybe you can say something like this, I love you best friend, so you make it clear that you appreciate it very much but that you are not declaring love, since best friend means best friend, so saying Te amo mejor amigo means I love you best friend
- Spanish (Mexico)
- English (US) Near fluent
@ohana_ Se que es difícil entenderlo desde la perspectiva de la cultura japonesa, pero...
En la cultura mexicana (depende de la persona) utilizamos la palabra "amar" en contextos que le parecerán muy extraños. Cuando una mujer le dice "te amo" a muchos hombres, es evidente que no se refiere exactamente al sentimiento profundo de "amar", muy probablemente está utilizando esa expresión como un equivalente a "me caes bien" o algo parecido.
Se que los japoneses no acostumbran utilizar esa palabra a menos que sea algo real.
Muchas personas en México son igual. En lo personal, no le digo "te amo" a nadie, excepto a mi novia. Pero utilizo mucho "te quiero" entre familiares y amigos.
Highly-rated answerer
- Spanish (Mexico)
- English (US) Near fluent
Como ejemplo...
Algunas personas famosas o "You tubers" le dicen a sus "fans" ¡los amo a todos! ♥ Pero eso no se trata de un amor real. Es solo una manera común y muy irreal de dirigirse a sus seguidores.
Highly-rated answerer
- Spanish (Mexico)
- English (US) Near fluent
En lo personal, pienso que no es muy buena idea abusar de esta expresión. No es por que me parezca malo que una mujer le diga a muchos hombres "te amo" (no pretendo juzgar a nadie), es solo que me parece que al hacer eso, la expresión pierde su sentido real (como ya lo ha hecho actualmente para muchas personas).
Highly-rated answerer

Deleted user
- Spanish (Mexico)

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