1 post tagged “amor”
Spanish is my first language and I often find myself speaking like I'm translating. I've been thinking about the different ways to say "I love you."
Amar and Querer are different ways to say to love but they're so much more than that.
Querer can mean "to love", but the other translation of the word is "to want". The way that the word is normally used makes that really appropriate. You say " Te quiero" usually earlier in a relationship, when you love-want them.
Amar is "to love" in the slit your wrists (cortate las venas) sort of way. Its the kind of love where it hurts to be with them and it hurts to be away from them.
Its hard to define this to someone who isn't at least a little bit latin. Think of the Taco Bell chihuahua saying, "yo quiero taco bell." He wants Taco Bell, but does he also love taco bell? He probably does.
I think when you're hispanic its so much easier to say "I love this" and "I love that" because you do. It's just a different level of love. Its that kind of love where its not just i love, but i want.
It's also harder for a Spanish speaker to accept I love you from a non-Spanish speaker. You'll often hear "how do you love me?" It stems from the fact that there's only one word in English to express all the different levels of love.
and young man, you know who you are: te quiero pero no se si te amo