Depending on your upbringing, age, and culture, “My Lovely” is either a sweet term of endearment that’s perfectly suited to a partner or a creepy moniker more likely to be uttered by an evil supervillain as they address their minions.
We’re torn between the two but to avoid our loved ones mistaking our kindness for a thinly-veiled threat, we’ll probably never use the expression. In Spanish, however, it’s a different story and it is much less ambiguous.
In fact, phrases like “my love” and “my lovely” are actually very sweet ways to reference people you care about, and it’s these phrases that we’ll address here.
How Do You Say “My Love” in Spanish?
Even if you don’t speak Spanish and are just learning the basics, there is a good chance you’ll recognize this one:
- My Love = Mi Amor (pronounced mee ah-more)
In English, “my love” sounds more like a declaration reserved for lovestruck teenagers in Shakespeare plays and romcoms. The Spanish translation, although it literally means “my love”, is best translated as “baby” or “sweetheart”. It’s often used to express affection, typically as a greeting, such as:
- Hello, my love = Hola, mi amor
- Good morning, my love = Buenos dias, mi amor
- Goodnight, my love = Buenas noches, mi amor
Not only is mi amor a term of endearment, but it can also be used as a possessive adjective. In other words, in addition to calling something “my love”, you can say things like:
- My love is not for sale = Mi amor no está en venta
- My love for you will never die = Mi amor por ti nunca morira
- My love is infinite = Mi amor es infinito
If you’ve just started to learn Spanish and are struggling with gender-specific words (as is the case with most English speakers), you’ll be happy to know that mi amor can be used by and for both males and females.
There is no male or female version, no mi amore or mi amora.
What’s the Difference Between Amor Mio and Mi Amor?
If you search for English/Spanish translations using the expression “my love”, you’ll probably see both amor mio and mi amor, so what’s the difference?
On the surface, it’s actually quite simple, as it’s one that also exists in English:
- Amor Mío = Love of Mine
- Mi Amor = My Love
However, these terms are used a little differently. Mi amor is far more common, but amor mio is usually more elegant and personal. Of course, it depends on where you are. The Spanish-speaking world is vast and all these regions use different expressions and react differently to certain terms of endearment.
How Do You Say “My Lovely” in Spanish?
“My lovely”, unlike “my love”, is gender-specific in the Spanish language:
- Mi encantadora (feminine)
- Mi encantador (masculine)
As an adjective, the above word actually means “charming” and when used as a noun, it references an “enchanter”.
It can be used in a similar context as “my love” though and also works as both a term of endearment and a possessive adjective. So, you can say:
Como estas mi encantadora or como estas mi encantador, which means “how are you, my lovely?” and you can also ask ¿Dónde está mi encantadora esposa?, which is “how is my lovely wife?”.
As in English, the term is used in the same context as “my beautiful” or “my handsome”, as well as “dear”, “honey”, and “darling”. For example:
- How is my dear husband? = ¿Cómo está mi querido esposo?
- Come on, my lovely, just tell us what happened = Vamos, querida, solo cuéntamos lo que pasó
- How is my beautiful daughter? = ¿Cómo está mi hermosa hija?
How to Say “I Love You a Lot” In Spanish (Te Quiero Mucho)
As with Greek and several other languages, there are different types of “love” in Spanish.
If you want to express a kind of platonic love, one that you have for a friend or family member, you could use te quiero. If you want to express personal love, it’s te amo.
In English, we don’t really have these differences. Just think of te quiero as the words you utter to a friend when they depart while te amo is the meaningful phrase you first say to a boyfriend/girlfriend after several months together.
Of course, you can also add mucho to the end to say, “a lot”, such as:
- Te amo mucho (I love you a lot)
- Te quiero mucho (I love you a lot…as a friend)
“Love” Phrases in Spanish
| Spanish Word | English Translation | Pronunciation |
| Y te quiero | And I love you | Y Te Quie-ro |
| Pero te quiero | But I love you | Pe-ro Te Quie-ro |
| Si te quiero | I do love you | Si Te Quie-ro |
| Te amo Mucho | I love you a lot | Te Am-o Mu-cho |
| Los amo a todos | I love you all | Los A-mo A To-dos |
| Te amo mucho | I love you lots | Te Am-o Mu-cho |
| Te quiero mas | I loved you more | Te Quie-ro Mas |
| Te amo | I loved you | Te Am-o |
| No te amo | I don’t love you | No Te Am-o |
| Mi Amante | My lover | Mi A-man-te |
| Mi Mejor Amigo | My best friend | Mi Me-jor A-mi-go |
| Mis Amores | My loves | Mis A-mor-es |
| Esta bien, mi amor | Ok, my love | Es-ta Bien Mi A-mor |
| El amor de mi vida | The love of my life | El A-mor De Mi Vi-da |
Similar Words to Mi Amor and Mi Encantadora/Encantador
Looking for some other romantic words and phrases in Spanish? There are plenty to choose from and we have listed and translated the best of them below:
| Spanish Word | English Translation | Pronunciation |
| Querido | Beloved | Que-ri-do |
| Querido | Dear | Que-ri-do |
| Mas Querido | Dearest | Mas Que-ri-do |
| Encantador | Delightful | En-can-ta-dor |
| Adorado | Precious | A-do-ra-do |
| Mono | Sweet | Mo-no |
| Carino | Babe | Ca-ri-no |
| El Novio | Boyfriend | El No-vio |
| El Enamorado | Valentine | El E-na-mo-ra-do |
Etymology Check
Quiero has a very interesting etymology in Spanish as it comes from theverb querer meaning “to want”. But it has its roots in the Latin verb quaero, which means “to see”. So, when you tell someone that you love them in Spanish, you’re essentially saying that you are looking for them or that you want them.
As for the word amor, it also comes from Latin and has the same meaning as the modern Spanish meaning. Incidentally, Spanish isn’t the only romantic language to have adopted this word.
The French use amour while Italians use amore and the Portuguese say amor.