Te amo o te quiero

Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me understand the two forms of I love you? I know that we learn te amo, however I work with quite a few Spanish speakers and they have told me that te amo is very rarely used and that te quiero is proper. I know it is minor, but just curious. Thank you

[quo]*Quote from * jjk2000 Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me understand the two forms of I love you? I know that we learn te amo, however I work with quite a few Spanish speakers and they have told me that te amo is very rarely used and that te quiero is proper. I know it is minor, but just curious. [/quo] My Puerto Rican girlfriend says "te quiero" to me. In her culture this is used for a more amorous, or romantic, love. She says "te amo" to her children. It is the same with the Cubans I know here in Florida. Greg

Thank you very much.

As is so often the case in Spanish, usage varies from one region to another. Rather than depend on what one person says about how a term is used in one place, you might want to check out the discussions on WordReference.com. The question of te amo vs. te quiero has been discussed there many times. If you go to *__http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=amo+quiero__ *and scroll down to where it says in bold *Forum discussions with the word(s) 'amo quiero' in the title:*, you'll find lots of opinions from native Spanish speakers from all over Latin America and Spain.

Thanks for the link. It's very helpfull . Antonio

oh i thought Te quiero is i like you...

Hola! Im from Mexico and here, we only say "TE AMO" when we really really love someone!!!...and usually to our loved one!... Now "Te quiero" is used more regularly to define that you "love" someone but this is not as deep as "Te amo"...at least that is what happens in Mexico, but ill bet it changes from a region to another... Mucha suerte!!! Los quiero a todos :P hahaha...

Wow...... lol B)

There is a song that explains the 2 words..."Querer" and "Amar"... And it says: "...Es que amar y querer no es igual, amar es sufrir, querer es gozar....Todos sabemos querer, pero pocos sabemos amar..." "...Because loving (amar)and "loving" (querer) are not the same, To love(amar) is to suffer, and "loving" (querer) is just to enjoy....Everyone knows how to "love"(querer) but only a few of us know how to love (amar)... You can find it on youtube, the singers name is JOSE JOSE...Yes, double jose there! hahhaa...and its called "Amar y querer"... Saludos!