Expressing feelings in Spanish can be a difficult and challenging task. However, when it comes to telling someone we miss them, there are two simple and basic Spanish phrases: te extraño and te echo de menos, both of them meaning “I miss you”.
Many other expressions exist that may be used as standalone phrases or may be combined to express how much we miss and need the person we love, whether it be a girlfriend/boyfriend, a relative or a friend.
The most common ways to say “I miss you” in Spanish are:
| Te extraño I miss you | No puedo estar sin ti I can’t be without you | Desearía que estuvieras aquí I wish you were here |
| Te echo de menos I miss you | Te necesito I need you | Ojalá estuvieras conmigo If only you were with me |
| Me haces falta I need you | ¡Cuánto te extraño! I miss you so much! | Siempre pienso en ti I always think of you |
1. Te extraño / I miss you
This is by far the most common way to say “I miss you” across Latin American countries. This expression uses the verb extrañar, which means “to miss”.
Te extraño. No puedo estar sin ti.
I miss you. I can't be without you.
The word mucho (a lot) may be added to add strength to the expression: te extraño mucho (I miss you a lot).
2. Te echo de menos / I miss you
A synonym of te extraño, this expression is mostly used in Spain. The phrase echar de menos means “to miss”.
Te echo de menos. ¿Cuándo volverás?
I miss you. When will you come back?
The word mucho may be added to add strength to the expression: te echo mucho de menos (I miss you a lot).
3. Me haces falta / I miss you, I need you
Though this phrase is literally translated as “you’re lacking to me”, its idiomatic meaning is “I miss you”.
Me haces falta. No puedo vivir sin ti.
I need you. I can’t live without you.
This expression may pose a special challenge to English speakers, as the order of this Spanish construction is exactly the opposite to English. The full expression is tú me haces falta, in which tú (you) is the person missed, and me means “to me”.
The word mucha (a lot) may be added for emphasis: me haces mucha falta (I miss you a lot).
4. Te necesito / I need you
This phrase is usually used to express dependence and emotional attachment to someone, especially when they are physically apart from the speaker.
Por favor vuelve pronto. Te necesito.
Please come back soon. I need you.
5. ¡Te extraño tanto! / I miss you so much!
This expression is the emphatic version of te extraño, conveying a deep feeling of longing. It may be used with family and close friends, as well as in a romantic relationship.
¡Te extraño tanto! Desearía que pudieras estar aquí conmigo.
I miss you so much! I wish you could be here with me.
Related expressions are: te extraño mucho (I miss you very much) and te extraño muchísimo (I miss you so very much).
6. ¡Cuánto te extraño! / I miss you so much!
This expression emphatically shows the speaker’s longing for the other person’s presence, love and support.
¡Cuánto te extraño! ¿Podemos vernos?
I miss you so much! Can we meet up?
How to say I miss you to a boyfriend/girlfriend
Phrases addressed to the loved one are typically longer, and express a stronger level of emotional intensity:
7. No puedo estar sin ti / I can’t be without you
This expression is typically used in a romantic setting, meaning that the speaker is unhappy or incomplete without their loved one.
No puedo estar sin ti. Me haces mucha falta.
I can't be without you. I miss you so much.
8. Pienso todo el tiempo en ti / I think about you all the time
Typically said in a romantic relationship, this expression is mainly used by younger people to express a strong feeling of attachment towards the other person. It is usually combined with other “I miss you” phrases:
Te extraño muchísimo. Pienso todo el tiempo en ti.
I miss you so much. I think about you all the time.
9. Desearía que estuvieras aquí / I wish you were here
This expression is used to express a longing, when it is difficult or impossible to be near the loved one. Though typically used in a romantic relationship, this phrase may also be used with close friends and relatives.
Te extraño. Desearía que estuvieras aquí.
I miss you. I wish you were here.
10. Ojalá estuvieras conmigo / If only you were with me
This expression is typically used in a romantic setting. The speaker expresses their longing, conveying a feeling of melancholy and misery caused by the absence of their loved one.
Ojalá estuvieras conmigo. Me siento solo sin ti.
I wish you were with me. I feel lonely without you.
How to respond to “I miss you” in Spanish
To respond to te extraño and other “I miss you” expressions in Spanish, the simplest way is to say yo también or y yo a ti, both meaning “me too”:
—Te extraño mucho.
I miss you a lot.
—Yo también.
Me too.
For a deeper and more heartfelt-sounding answer, a full or partial repetition of the expression said by the other person is added after yo también, like this:
—Te echo mucho de menos.
I miss you a lot.
—Yo también te echo mucho de menos.
I miss you a lot too.
When the speaker is part of a couple or group delivering the message, the pronoun nosotros/nosotras (we) is used with a change in the verb:
—Los extraño.
I miss you. (plural “you”)
—Nosotros también te extrañamos.
We miss you too.
Other nice and sweet ways of saying “I miss you” are yo más (I do more) and yo te extraño más (I miss you more), which are especially used by children or when addressing them:
—¡Te extraño, tía!
¡I miss you, auntie!
—¡Yo más! Te amo, mi amor.
I do more! I love you, sweetheart.
How to conjugate “I miss you” in different verb tenses
Just like “I miss you” in English, the Spanish equivalent te extraño and related expressions can be conjugated in other verb tenses in addition to the present tense to express past and future time:
“I miss you” in the past time
When the speaker and their dear one have been apart, the expressions below may be said when both persons are reunited. The equivalents of “I’ve missed you” in Spanish are:
The equivalents of “I missed you” in Spanish are:
“I miss you” in the future time
When the speaker and their dear one will be apart, the expressions below may be said, which are translated as “I’m going to miss you” or “I’ll miss you”:
Te voy a extrañar. / Te extrañaré.
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References
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
- Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, accessed September 11, 2024, under “unhappiness,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Wordreference.com, accessed September 11, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Oxford Collocations Dictionary, 2nd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
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