My Love in Spanish

Mi amor (Spanish for “my love”) is the most common term of endearment in Spanish. However, it is by no means the only one:

Most Spanish words of endearment serve to address both males and females. This means they are invariable in gender, not changing their endings for the masculine and feminine forms. One exception is querido (darling), which changes to querida to address a woman.

15 ways to say “my love” in Spanish

Different ways to say “my love” in Spanish are used depending on whether the loved one is a romantic partner, a friend or a child:

1. Mi amor / My love

This is the most common term of endearment in Spanish, used to address not only romantic partners, but also children and dear friends. It literally means “my love”.

Buenos días, mi amor.
Good morning my love.

Quick tip: Besides being used as a term of endearment, the word amor (love) is an abstract noun: El amor es lo más importante en la vida. / Love is the most important thing in life.

2. Amor / Love

This short version of the full endearment “my love” is typically used to address your significant one. It sounds fresher in tone, and is very common among young and middle-aged couples. It is the Spanish equivalent of “love” or “babe”.

Amor, ¿me vas a buscar al trabajo hoy?
Love, will you pick me up from work today?

3. Cariño / Honey

This endearment is similar in meaning to the English “dear” or “darling”. While it is usually used by middle-aged or older couples, it can also address children.

¡Ven aquí, cariño!
Come here, honey!

Quick tip: Besides being used as a term of endearment, the word cariño is an abstract noun. It means “affection”: Siento mucho cariño por ellos. / I feel a lot of affection for them.

4. Querido/a / Darling

The Spanish word querido (or querida for females), meaning “dear” or “darling”, is especially common among older people to address their significant others as well as children. It is also used to address friends, which could roughly translate as “buddy”.

Querida, apresúrate o no llegaremos a tiempo al teatro.
Darling, hurry up or we won't make it to the theater on time.

5. Bebé / Babe

This term is particularly used by teens and young couples, and to address little children. Otherwise, it may sound patronizing.

Qué afortunado soy de tenerte, bebé.
How lucky I am to have you, babe.

6. Corazón / Sweetie

Literally meaning “heart”, this tender-sounding endearment is not only used among couples, but to address dear friends, family and children. It is the English equivalent of “sweetie” or “sugar”. Another version is mi corazón, which sounds stronger in tone.

Te extraño, corazón.
I miss you, sweetie.

7. Mi vida / My life

Literally translated as “my life” and equivalent in tone to “my love”, this strong endearment is used to address someone who is an integral part to the speaker’s life, like your significant other or a child. It conveys tenderness, warmth as well as emotional connection. The shorter version vida is also frequent.

¡Mi vida, te amo tanto!
My love, I love you so much!

8. Cielo / Honey

This term of endearment is used to show deep love for someone, being reserved for a person’s significant other or to address children. Though literally translate as “my heaven”, it is equivalent to the English “my love” or “my sweetheart”, and is equivalent in tone to the Spanish mi vida.

Te amo con toda mi alma, cielo.
I love you with all my heart, honey.

9. Mi ángel / My angel

This endearment is used to address a romantic partner or child. It emphasizes the innocent and pure nature of the loved one.

No podría vivir sin ti, mi ángel.
I couldn’t live without you, my angel.

10. Hermoso/a / Cutie

The term hermoso (or hermosa for females) is used as a sweet appellation to show affection, warmth and tenderness. A common appellation among friends, it is less frequent among romantic partners.

Hola, hermoso, ¿cómo estás?
Hi, cutie, how are you doing?

11. Precioso/a / Gorgeous

This appellation conveys that the speaker finds the loved one beautiful, not only physically but also deep inside. It is a common way to address romantic partners and children, as well as friends, and is equivalent to “gorgeous” or “beauty”. It has a masculine and a feminine form: precioso and preciosa, respectively.

¿Cómo dormiste, preciosa?
How did you sleep, gorgeous?

12. Gordito/a / Cutie pie

This is a common pet name between romantic partners, and may also be used with children and babies. The short form gordi is very usual.

El desayuno está listo, gordita.
Breakfast’s ready, cutie pie.

Other typical pet names with a similar meaning include mami/mamita and papi/papito (literally translated as “mommy” and “daddy”).

13. Bomboncito / Muffin

A common pet name among romantic partners, it is typically used in the masculine form to address both men and women.

¡Te amo tanto, bomboncito!
I love you so much, muffin!

14. Tesoro / Darling

Literally translated as “treasure”, this endearment is used by older people to address their significant others or children. English equivalents include “darling”, “my love” or “sweetheart”.

Ven aquí, tesoro; la abuela te ayuda.
Come here, sweetheart; grandma will help you.

15. Reina/rey / Queen/king

This strong endearment is especially used between romantic partners, with the feminine form reina (queen) to address women, and the masculine form rey (king) to address men.

Luces preciosa, mi reina.
You look beautiful, my queen.

Love-related vocabulary

Common Spanish love-related words and expressions include:

novio boyfriend	casamiento wedding	media naranja soul mate
novia girlfriend	luna de miel honeymoon	compinche partner in crime
pareja couple, partner	marido husband	amor de mi vida life of my life
estar enamorado/enamorada to be in love	esposa wife	Te amo I love you
tener una relación to be in a relationship	cónyuge spouse	Me gustas I like you
estar comprometidos to be engaged	guapo/guapa hot	Me encantas I like you a lot

You may also like:

• I miss you in Spanish
• I’m sorry in Spanish
• Greetings in Spanish
• Common phrases in Spanish

References

• Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, accessed September 16, 2024, under “innocent,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
• Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press.
• Wordreference.com, “guapo,” accessed September 16, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/