Please tell me the different sentence structures between "me gusta" and "te amor".

Question

In English, there is only one word different when we say "I like you" and "I love you". But why not "me gusta" and "me amor", or "te gusta" and "te amor" in Spanish? Please tell me their different sentence structures. Thanks!

Correction! Sorry about the typo. It should be "te amo", not "te amor". - joygogo, Mar 20, 2013

It would help if you would fill out your language proficiency in your profile. - rac1, Mar 20, 2013

I am a beginner. And I just finish the level-one courses offered by SpanishDict. - joygogo, Mar 20, 2013

Entonces bienvenid@. =) - -cae-, Mar 20, 2013

Thank you, Joygogo. That will help and answer your question more effectively. - rac1, Mar 20, 2013

Answer 1

Me gustas= I like you.

Te gusto= You like me.

The reason this is so confusing is because in Spanish, instead of saying 'I like you' we say, 'You are likable to me.'

I once heard it described this way: you know the verb "to disgust" in English? You say'"You disgust me' or 'I disgust you.' Well, think of the verb 'gustar' like the opposite of 'to disgust'; a new word 'to gust'.

So, you would say 'you gust me' to mean 'I like you'. This is exactly how 'gustar' works in Spanish.

'Amar' (to love), on the other hand, works just like its equivalent in English.

Te amo= I love you

Me amas= you love me.

Here is a collection of ways to express liking, loving, etc. in Spanish:

• Gustar: to 'gust', to be pleasing to, to be likable to
• Querer: to love, not necessarily romantic (i.e. a mother, sibling, or friend)
• Amar: to love, usually romantically
• Caerle bien: to 'fall well' to someone– to get along well with them (works like gustar)

Excellent explanation. - -cae-, Mar 20, 2013

Answer 2

As PumpkinCalabaza already mentioned, in Spanish there are some verbs or expressión to transmit affection, which are, in a scale from the lowest to the highest affection:

1. Caer bien, agradar, simpatizar: Me caes bien, Me agradas, Me simpatizas.
2. Gustar: Me gustas.
3. Querer: Te quiero.
4. Amar: Te amo.

Only 2 to 4 express specifically love or attraction.

Typically the most use verb, even in a couple, will be "querer", not "amar", since there is a strong feeling related to the verb "amar" which is usually reserved for especial situations. If not, or someone uses too often, the one who uses it will lose credibility with the other person.