How do you know if you really love someone? Is it true love or mere attraction you feel?
What is the difference between “I love you” and “I like you”?
Many thought they have already found the love of a lifetime only to end up with so many tears. There are some who say they do not believe in love anymore because of painful relationship experiences. So, how do you recognize love?
Take a look at these 21 differences between love and like. Evaluate what you feel for someone with these:
Love vs. Like: 21 Differences between I Love You and I Like You Video
Please help to 
our YouTube channel if you like our video. Let’s grow together!
Love vs. Like: 21 Differences between I Love You and I Like You
#1.
Like: Skin-deep.
If you have fallen for the person because of his/her tantalizing eyes, beach body, or alluring tan, then you call that attraction.
Love: It Goes beyond the physical appearance.
Love does not look at the physical characteristics of a person. Although many love stories started with physical attraction, what led them to love is knowing each other on a deeper level.
#2.
Like: You are thrilled to be with the person.
You are excited to be with the person. You feel like you are the luckiest man/woman in the world because s/he is near you.
Love: You find genuine happiness when you are with him/her.
It is more than excitement. You experience unexplainable joy and peace brought by the person’s presence. It feels like you are home.
#3.
Like: You get self-conscious when the person is around.
Your behavior changes suddenly when s/he arrives. You run to the restroom to check yourself in the mirror. You should be impressive.
Love: You want to be true to yourself when you are with the person.
You want the person to see who you really are for the hope that s/he will accept you despite your flaws. You do not want to deceive him/her.
#4.
Like: It happens overnight.
You feel you have been swept off your feet the moment your eyes met. It could be love at first sight or a few hours of knowing the person made you realize s/he is the one.
Love: It takes time.
Usually, you cannot keep track of when it started. You have been around each other for quite some time, maybe as friends or colleagues, and the more you hang out together, the more you get attached unsuspectedly.
#5.
Like: You pretend to be interested in what the person says.
You want to make the person feel that you really care about his/her thoughts, but the truth is you barely hear what s/he says because you are pre-occupied with how cute the person is. You are also busy thinking about how you can impress him/her.
Love: You sincerely want to listen to the person.
You listen to what the person has to say because you want to understand him/her better. Moreover, you hope you can help in case there is a problem. You do not take advantage of the situation to impress.
#6.
Like: It is emotion-based.
You linger around while that giddy, ecstatic feeling about the person lasts. When your heart does not beat fast seeing him/her anymore, you say it is over.
Love: It is decision-based.
It is your decision to stay with the person, care for him/her, and accept his/her imperfections, whether there is still magic in the air or not.
#7.
Like: You are proud to be seen with the person.
You want to flaunt that this person is with you, especially if s/he is good looking because you want other girls/guys to envy you.
Love: You are proud of the person.
You do not care about the credentials of the person, whether others consider him/her a good catch or not. You are proud to be with the person simply because you love him/her.
#8.
Like: You want to be the best so s/he will notice you.
You dress up, put your best foot forward because you want to catch his/her eyes.
Love: You are inspired to be the best of yourself because s/he deserves the best.
You want to be the best in every area, not just physically, because you want to be worthy of him/her.
#9.
Like: You get turned off.
Once you see his/her awful or embarrassing side, you come back to earth from cloud 9 and realize you do not like him/her anymore.
Love: You accept every flaw of the person.
Even if you see how bad s/he can be, you decide to stay and continue to believe in the person’s goodness.
#10.
Like: The person is perfect in your eyes.
For you, everything about him/her is flawless.
Love: You are not blind to his/her imperfection.
As the saying goes, “Love is not blind. It does see but it does not mind.”
#11.
Like: You see the person in your dreams.
Since you think about the person all day, it is not surprising that you find him/her even in your dreams.
Love: You see the person in your future.
You can envision building a home with that person because you have decided that s/he is the one for you.
#12.
Like: You get head over heels with the person.
It is like a spell that stops you from resisting him/her. If s/he would ask you to, you would willingly leave everything behind. You cannot accept bad comments about the person, and you do not listen to advice.
Love: You regard the person levelheaded.
You are able to make sound judgments when it involves the person or your relationship. You can weigh decisions using your brain, not just your heart.
#13.
Like: You tolerate his/her mistakes.
You do not want to disappoint him/her, so you tolerate everything s/he does even those that are not good like vices. What matters to you is his/her approval, not yours.
Love: You rebuke him/her.
It does not matter if s/he gets mad at you. What is important is his/her well-being.
#14.
Like: It fades the more you get close.
As you get to know the person more, the mystery and thrill start to wear off, and so does your feeling.
Love: It grows the more you get close.
The more you get to know him/her, the more you realize that you really want to be with him/her.
#15.
Like: You want the person to take care of you.
You pretend to be helpless in hope that s/he would volunteer to help and care for you.
Love: You want to take care of the person.
It does not matter if s/he returns the favor as long as you get to make sure s/he is alright.
#16.
Like: You want to be the center of his/her attention.
You get mad whenever s/he finds someone else attractive or s/he spends more time with other people.
Love: S/he is the center of your attention.
Even when there are better and more attractive people around, your eyes and focus are still on him/her.
#17.
Like: It lasts as long as the person is around.
Whenever you do not see him/her, it is easy to turn your attention to someone else.
Love: It endures the distance and time.
True love endures long distances and you are willing to wait.
#18.
Like: Meeting his/her family is not a big deal.
Usually, meeting his/her family does not even occur to your mind.
Love: Meeting his/her family is important to you.
You bravely want to face his/her family because you are hoping you will be one of them someday.
#19.
Like: You are possessive of the person.
You get jealous when someone else gets close to him/her. S/he should be solely yours, so back off.
Love: You understand that you do not own him/her.
You treat him/her as a free individual. His/her happiness matters more to you.
#20.
Like: You desire to make love to the person.
Because it is more of a physical attraction, there is a strong urge to have sexual intimacy with the person.
Love: Spending quality time with the person is more than enough.
You can still say you love him/her and stay around even without sex involved in the relationship.
#21.
Like: It is easy to move on.
Once the relationship is over, it does not take a long time to get over it. You do not feel too miserable as well.
Love: It takes a long time to forget him/her.
The person will always have a special place in your heart even after a long time.
So, is it love or is it like? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Online courses recommended for you:
- Relationship Coaching: Transform Problems into Growth & Love:
Develop true love & greater intimacy & a relationship growth mindset, stop destructive conflicts, find meaning & purpose. - Love & Connection: The Science of Successful Relationships:
This course will show you how to examine the unknown path that you’ll travel with your spouse, and carefully evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship.
Books recommended for you
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
ALSO READ:
Am also confused but I found the answers I was looking for,thanks to the person who made this site it help but it hurts as well because the girl I love don’t love me
Thanks I’m very grateful I now know the difference between love and like
You love someone regardless to how much suffering u will endure
Thanks to this site
I now know my stands
For me is from like to love, slowly build up, and yep is almost two years that I’ve been attracted and wanna know more and more about him
Tbh I thought it was like a d turned out to be love 😳😳
Thanks alot
I now realize that like is different from love
Woww, that’s amazing Diffrenciate i must say. I was here to find to difference btw love n like and i definitely get the desired info. I m thankful to visit here.
I searched for this question when my friend told me “you know I like you more than I love you. It left me confused and wanted to know the difference. The 21 numbers applied as to the difference.
Thank you for sharing this information. I struggle with trusting my heart and so this helps me to put my feelings in to perspective. To learn after 7 years knowing, 2 1/2 dating my boyfriend that I only like him is a shock! Whereas my best friend and 10 years plus I love! Everything that represented love in this article is how I feel about him. OMG!
love is so much passionate that you can’t imagine, while liking is when you sees them talk to them imagine.
I really appreciate the person that bring this platform, it makes me realize the position l am serving with my girlfriend and it shows that am totally in love with her, this platform have so much help me to correct some certain mistake l made so far, being jealous over seeing her close to other guys around her, so realize that treating her as a free individual is one of the major ways in every relationship to stand firm, because her happiness matters alot to me.
I only agreed with 2 of the love so, I guess that means I only like the person. I knew I was right when I kept telling him I only like you. Thanks, for setting it straight.
Thank you too sweetheart
By Aliyu Ali from wase L.G.A plateau State of Nigeria
Like and crushes are entirely different than love and everlasting connections.
Although crushes can last for years, they’re based on superficial qualities such as appearance, voice, style, social mannerisms and sometimes flirtatious behavior. People often develop these because they either like the attention they receive via flirting, physical attraction, or they develop interest in someone who seems different than most others they’ve known prior. But they never really develop much of a relationship with them beyond obsessing behind the scenes, fantasizing and idealizing.
Love is different. It grows with time and care. It’s based on real communication and interactions. It takes years to develop. Years of positive exchanges with demonstrative mutual respect and selflessness. Shared values, insights and inside jokes don’t hurt as well. Love extends not only beyond time and space but also appearances. When you love someone you aren’t concerned with their acne or clothing size, but their well-being and safety. When you love someone, reconnecting even after a long period has passed comes easily. Love requires commitment and effort, compassion and generosity. Love requires setting aside your own desires or insecurities and asking yourself, what is in the best interest of the other person, as well as supporting him or her even when riddled with doubt. Like you mentioned in point two, love grows with time and brings a sense of peace and contentment. Lust is about excitement and longing, love is about feeling truly comfortable and accepted and close to another person.
Is there any truth in this statement: “I don’t like you but I will always love you”. I heard an old lady told her aged sick husband whom she thinks has become annoying and belligerent.
For me to him is like, thank God have told him that is likeness not love
IM STILL SO CONFUSED.. I THINK IT MAY BE LOVE BUT IM NOT SO SURE,,,BUT ALSO I DID SEEM TO FIND THE LOVE AREAS TO FIT MY SITUATION
There is this person, he is my friend, no he’s my bestfriend and lately everytime I hang out with him I feel like I wanted to hug him, then I heard a rumor that he likes me. We started to communicate more often and be like wanna know each other, is it love or like tho?
I really love this…because I was in a confused state of mind and this help me to realize that I am very much deeply in love with my boyfriend. From number 1 to 21 it was all love and I thank whoever made this site every much .
Facts are facts..
In us we know the truth
You can’t match like with love
The difference is like the gap between the East point to the West point
Quite helpful. Just realising that my boyfriend likes and not loves me. I know where to place him
Thus wonderful it help me it help many
It’s really interesting differentiation.
I really findout that i was liking my girl-friend.
The difference between like and love is determined by its substance.
You like someone or something because it agrees with you and leaves you feeling good.
You Love someone or something regardless of how much pain or suffering you are made to endure.
Like is more deeper than love, so it is like
Yes.
Read every single letter on this page but still confused ………😖
Dont know what’s my true feeling…….
But however it was really interesting just to read it….
Hope it’ll help me……