te ama
/te ama/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "he loves you" is te ama.
te ama is used to state that a male person feels deep, profound or romantic love for someone.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the object pronoun te (you) and the third-person singular form of the verb amar (to love), which literally translates to "you he loves".
Which one should you use?
While te ama expresses deep or profound romantic love, the phrase te quiere is a more common, everyday way to say "he loves you" or "he cares for you" in many contexts.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you can use Está prendado de ti to mean "He is smitten with you".
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the subject from "he" to "I", you change the verb ending from ama to amo, resulting in te amo (I love you).
How do you pronounce it?
/te ama/
Did you know?
- While te ama is for deep romantic love, the more common te quiere comes from the verb querer, which also means 'to want'. In many contexts, saying someone 'wants' you is the standard way to say they love you.
- The word ama in a different context can actually be a noun meaning 'mistress' or 'lady of the house' in older Spanish, unrelated to the verb for love.
- The phrase te ama is often used in religious contexts to describe the love of God for a person, where it carries a spiritual weight that transcends human romance.
Examples in context
- Él te ama mucho.He loves you very much.This sentence shows the use of te ama with an intensifier.Tatoeba #1335704 by marcelostockle, translation #288761 by CK
- Te amo más de lo que él te ama.I love you more than he loves you.This sentence shows a comparison using te ama.Tatoeba #1130381 by cueyayotl, translation #1130012 by jdonnarumma
- Te ama tanto como yo.He loves you as much as I do.Tatoeba #1002466 by wittleghoul, translation #246419 by CK
- Mi abuelo te quiere mucho.My grandfather loves you very much.
- ¿Acaso no sabes que él te ama?Don't you know he loves you?
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are talking about a mutual friend's feelings.
- SofíaÉl te ama de verdad.He loves you truly.
- Javier¿Estás segura de eso?Are you sure about that?
- SofíaSí, lo sé, te ama.Yes, I know, he loves you.
- JavierNo puedo creerlo.I can't believe it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
