¿a quién amas?
The English phrase "who do you love" is translated into Spanish as ¿a quién amas?
This phrase is used to ask which person someone has deep romantic or familial feelings for. It relies on the verb amar, which means "to love".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "to whom you love". The preposition a is required in Spanish when the object of a verb is a person.
Which one should you use?
While amar implies a deep and profound love, you may encounter the verb querer in other contexts. Querer is a more versatile verb used for both "to love" (for friends or family) and "to want". Additionally, ¿A quién le tienes cariño? can be used as an informal way to ask "Who are you fond of?" or "Who do you love?"
How does it change in a sentence?
The form amas is the second-person singular informal conjugation of the verb amar. If you are asking a group of people whom they love, use the plural form a quién aman.
Did you know?
- While amar is the direct translation for 'love', Spanish speakers frequently use querer for partners and family because amar can sound overly dramatic or like a line from a soap opera.
- The word quién traces its roots back to the Latin 'quem', which shares a common ancestor with the English word 'who' through the ancient Proto-Indo-European root '*kʷ-'.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, if you ask ¿a quién amas? in a poetic or song context, it might actually refer to a personified concept like 'the homeland' rather than a human being.
Examples in context
- ¿A quién amas?Who do you love?This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase ¿a quién amas?Tatoeba #1904171 by Shishir, translation #1568786 by Sharaf78
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, quién, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
