te tengo cariño
/te tenɡo kaɾiɲo/from spelling rules
To say "I am fond of you" in Spanish, you use te tengo cariño.
The phrase te tengo cariño is used to express warmth or platonic affection toward friends, relatives or acquaintances. You can increase the intensity of the sentiment by saying te tengo mucho cariño to mean "I am very fond of you".
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase means "I have affection for you".
Which one should you use?
Te tengo cariño is less intense than te quiero, which is the standard way to say "I love you" to friends, family or partners. In a casual context, if you want to say you like someone as a person, you might use Me caes bien. For a more appreciative tone, Te aprecio mucho means "I appreciate you a lot".
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the sentiment formally, change the pronoun from te to le to form le tengo cariño.
How do you pronounce it?
/te tenɡo kaɾiɲo/
Did you know?
- If you tell a romantic interest te tengo cariño, you might inadvertently 'friend-zone' them by signaling that your feelings are strictly platonic.
- The word cariño is frequently used as a standalone noun to address a partner or child, functioning like 'honey' or 'sweetie' in English.
- The word cariño may have evolved from the word carinyo in Aragonese, a linguistic relative of Spanish.
Examples in context
- Me agradas mucho, eres una persona excepcional.I am fond of you, you are an exceptional person.
- Te aprecio mucho, eres como un hermano para mí.I am fond of you, you are like a brother to me.
- Me caes bien, siempre me haces reír con tus ocurrencias.I am fond of you, you always make me laugh with your jokes.
- Te tengo cariño, de verdad.I am fond of you, truly.
- Aunque no salimos, te tengo cariño.Even though we don't hang out, I am fond of you.
- Eres una buena amiga y te tengo cariño.You are a good friend and I am fond of you.
Example conversation
Two old friends are saying goodbye after a visit.
- MateoGracias por venir a visitarme, María.Thank you for coming to visit me, María.
- MaríaFue un placer, Mateo. Te extraño.It was a pleasure, Mateo. I miss you.
- MateoYo también. Sabes que te tengo cariño.Me too. You know that I am fond of you.
- MaríaY yo a ti. ¡Hasta pronto!And I of you. See you soon!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cariño, te, CC BY-SA 4.0.
