Te Quiero Mucho

What's a good translation for this phrase?
Literally, it means, I want you a lot.

In practice, I've found it's more or less a filler phrase, like, have a nice day, or see ya.

[HonkyTonk]

Yes, but it really signifies she loves you a lot.

[Jim]

Te quiero mucho means I love you a lot.

There verb querer means to want, like or love and it depends on the context. Another Spahish verb which have two meanings in English and can be confusing are:

esperar = to wait or to hope for

Te amo is a stronger expresion of love that te quiero but these are just nuances.

Jim

I think te amo is pretty clear cut.

Te quiero mucho is probably more along the lines of "luv ya."

[HonkyTonk]

Nope. I've never seen it use in a casual manner but then again, I have not visited every country in Latin America.

[Jim]

It's definately NOT equivalent to Luv ya. It's lots closer to Te amo than anything else.

A casual expresion I'm fond of is "Mi amor" which would apprear to mean my love but can be used with just about anyone without much worry. Honky Tonk is right that meanings and connotations can change a little when you cross a border but most things don't change.

Jim

For me, when my current girlfriend said "Te amo" it meant a kiss or a smile from her heart. But "Te quiero" at night or early in the morning meant sex. Paz y mucha suerte.
Kev

[Junfan]

Te quiero, from my experience, means "I Love You" or "I want you"...as in the sack....Te amo...is the traditional, "I love you"

A girl will often use "te quiero" while the relationship is still in the courtship process...after marriage, it was 'te amo'.

Off to slay another Gringa tonight!
JunFan out!

Now I'm confused.

I've had a conversation with a Bogotana in which we agreed we didn't have chemistry, and she's starting to date a coworker, etc, etc. She ended the conversation with
te quiero mucho, and has used that phrase in subsequent conversations.

I'm just trying to figure this out for future reference.

[HonkyTonk]

One thing you know, she's with someone else. Maybe she's letting you know she cares, but I'd never use that term with a woman that wasn't very special to me and I'd expect a woman to do the same with me.