I know a lot of you may be confused about the differences between I love you and love you. Sometimes you doubt the real context of these words.
When it comes to expressing your emotions to someone or something, or a group of people, there should be words that precisely explain your stance. While it can be a single individual you want to express your love to, in some situations it might be a group of people.
Both two phrases are used to describe emotions to the person or object it is said to. But there is a difference between I love and love you and that is what we are going to discuss in this article. First of all, you need to understand the meaning of each of the statements.
What is I love you
Table of Contents
The phrase I love is used between two people, it is used to describe affection that is directed to a single person. For example, you and your significant other, you can use the word to express the love you have for your partner, these feelings are personal, there cannot be another person involved in this, the main use of this phrase is when two people are in love with each other and one wants to express his love to the other.
When you tell your partner you love them and they reply, it tends to create a state of important obligation between the two of you. This relationship can be more than friendship. However, the difference still varies with the person using the phrase. You can tell your pet I love you if you want it to feel cute, or between husband and wife to express how they are feeling about each other, or between father or mother to their children.
It all expresses the feeling of one person to the other. I love you can be used as a complete sentence because it contains both the subject and the object, and other sentences can be used to elaborate it more. For example, “I have been thinking about you, and think of you more than a friend, and I have no hesitancy in expressing my feelings for you, I love you” it is evident in this sentence how one person is expressing their love specifically to the other person and giving a reason for that.
What is love you
Love you is different from I love you. Although it is also a phrase used to express your feelings to the other person, however, the phrase is different because there is no obligation expressed here. Most people that used to love you don’t have feelings for the other person, it can be said between friends, teachers, and students.
It is just a general term used to express feelings without any attachment or deep affection involved. It can be used between father and mother to their siblings or siblings to their parents, it is not loved between girl and boy because it takes general meaning. You can use it to express gratitude, superficial affection, or general love for someone.
And another way you can take it as a general term is that when using it you mostly don’t mean what you said and the person said to will not take you seriously. The following examples explain its meaning in detail. “The shirt you bought for her was beautiful, it perfectly fits her, love you Mom” here it is used to express gratitude.
Another example is “I will cancel my engagement to attend the gathering to devote myself to my people, love you all” here the word is used with a general meaning to express love to a group of people not exclusively to one person. In addition, you can’t take the love you as a complete sentence because it lacks a subject.
6 differences between I love you and love you
- I love you is a term used to express your feelings towards a particular person or people, it requires deep affection and attachment. While love you is a general term, while it can be used to someone to express your love to them, it does not necessarily mean you are serious about it. Mostly it is often used in less serious situations.
- I love you is a phrase used to express how you feel about people who or dearly to you, while love you is a phrase used to express feelings to a group of people, pets, or a person whom you have less connection with.
- I love you is a romantic term that is often used when love is sparkling in the air, meaning in a romantic situation while love you is not a romantic term but, rather a general term that can be used in every situation. Love you can even be a statement to contradict something.
- I love you can be used between a girl and a boy, parents to their children, or in any situation where there is a direct connection between the two people, while love you is a term used to express love between two people in a distant relationship.
- Love you is a lazy word, it is often used as a routine where you don’t necessarily mean anything to the other person. Like you are forced to love someone and nothing bad has happened and you have to keep the pretense going, while I love you can be even described as a word of affirmation. You are putting emotional attachment with a positive tone. And there are often that you used I love you without any emotional attachment, for example, you can say while taking a spoonful of ice cream “I love you ice cream” here, you don’t mean you love ice cream with emotional attachment, rather you are just describing your like for ice cream and because you are taking it at that moment.
- I love you is a formal and traditional way of expressing love while love you can be described as a casual way of expressing love. It is usually expressed when someone is trying to escape attention and scrutiny.
- Some people use the love you when they just want to please the people around them while I love you is used on important people to show deep affection.
What does it mean when someone tells you, I love you
When someone tells you I love you, particularly your partner, it means they are saying “I’m here for you” meaning they are fully or sent in the relationship physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It means they are committed to you, they are not waiting for the relationship to sparkle before they commit to it.
When your partner says they love you, it means they see you for who you are, they are not after any materialistic thing, they see your eternal loveliness, and the person you are trying to be. That love will give you the courage to express yourself, and bring you fully into existence.
When your partner tells you I love you, it means he loves you without any judgment and accepts you which is a sacred act, not a half-hearted love. They are declaring a vow of accepting you, without judging or condemning you. And each time they say I love you, they are renewing that vow of acceptance and committing to being the presence of love in your life.
Love is a grateful act, when your partner says they love you, it also means they are grateful for your presence in their life, they are saying “thank you for seeing me, thank you for accepting me, and thank you for being in my life and, when I need you the most” his gratitude describes maybe he does not know who truly he is before until your appearance in his life.
What does it mean when someone tells you, love you
Mostly when people say love you, it means they are not deeply attached to you. However, in some cases, people often say I love you, because they are not people of many words, so they tend to use abbreviations more than full words, they are more like extending their values and preference. It might be who they are, or they are using it as a trial balloon to gauge response based on your reaction. Or in some cases when someone tells you, love you, it means they are just trying to please you.
Wrap up
To wrap up the differences between I love you and love you, the two phrases essentially have the same spelling and pronunciation. However, one lacks a subject.
While I love you is usually used for your significant other, parents, or people whom you are deeply attached to. love you is a general term, commonly used to describe love to people you are not emotionally attached to.
It describes a less intimate relationship, with the intention of casual and light-hearted meaning. Your friend can tell you love you in a form of goodbye in a relaxed atmosphere while your significant other will tell you I love you at the end of the conversation to emphasize their love for you.
