te gusta alguien
/te ɡusta alɡjen/from spelling rules
The English phrase "you have a crush" is translated into Spanish as te gusta alguien.
This phrase is used to describe a situation where you have a romantic attraction to someone. Spanish expresses this as the person being pleasing to you.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase te gusta alguien is literally structured as "someone is pleasing to you".
Which one should you use?
If you want to express a much stronger, more intense attraction or infatuation, you can use te encanta alguien instead of te gusta alguien.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may hear the informal expression me molas to mean "I'm super into you" or me flipas to mean "I'm crazy about you". In Argentina, the informal expression me re va can be used to mean "I'm totally into you".
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the same idea to someone you address formally, change the indirect object pronoun from te to le, resulting in le gusta alguien.
How do you pronounce it?
/te ɡusta alɡjen/
Did you know?
- While te gusta alguien is common, in Mexico and other parts of Latin America you might hear estoy clavado con alguien, which literally means 'I am nailed to someone'.
- In many Latin American countries, instead of saying te gusta alguien, people might say tienes un flechazo, which translates to 'you have an arrow strike', referencing Cupid's arrow.
- In Spain, the phrase me flipas comes from the word for 'flipping out' or 'hallucinating', suggesting the crush is so intense it feels like a psychedelic experience.
Examples in context
- Me gustas mucho. ¿Te gustaría salir a tomar un café y conocernos mejor?I like you a lot. Would you like to go for a coffee and get to know each other better?
- Creo que te gusta alguien de la clase.I think you have a crush on someone from class.
- ¿Te gusta alguien de la oficina?Do you have a crush on someone from the office?
- Dime, ¿te gusta alguien nuevo?Tell me, do you have a crush on someone new?
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are talking about their coworkers during a coffee break.
- AlejandroMaría, ¿te gusta alguien de este equipo?María, do you have a crush on someone on this team?
- MaríaNo, no me gusta nadie aquí.No, I don't have a crush on anyone here.
- AlejandroSeguro que te gusta alguien y no lo dices.I'm sure you have a crush on someone and you're just not saying it.
- María¡Qué gracioso eres, Alejandro!You're so funny, Alejandro!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
