Telling Someone You Miss Them
Say "te echo de menos." This phrase is a common way to say "I miss you" in Spanish. However, it is not a direct translation of the English words. The literal translation of the phrase is "I throw you less." While the direct or literal translation of the phrase into English doesn't make much sense, the meaning of the phrase is to express the feeling of having something missing in your life as a result of the person's absence. Pronounce the phrase as "tay EH-choh day MAY-nohs." This phrase is used more in Spain than in other Spanish-speaking parts of the world. If you are speaking in past tense ("I missed you"), you would say "te eché de menos."
Use the phrase "te extraño" in Latin America. This phrase is a more direct translation of the sentiment "I miss you." The verb extraño means "I miss" and te is the object pronoun for "you." Literally, this phrase is saying "you I miss." Pronounce this phrase "tay ehks-TRAHN-yo." To use this phrase in past tense to say "I missed you," you would say "te extrañé." This verb is more versatile, and can be used to say you miss other creatures or things. For example, you might use it to say "I miss my dog" – "Extraño a mi perro."
State "me haces falta." This is another phrase used to mean "I miss you" in Spanish. While there is no good direct translation, the general connection is that the person to whom you're speaking is responsible for an absence or need in your life. This phrase is made up of "me," the direct object pronoun for "yo," the first-person singular pronoun meaning "I," the verb "haces," which means "you make" or "you cause," and the noun "falta," which means "lack or absence." Pronounce the phrase "may AH-says FAHL-tah." In past tense, this phrase becomes "me hiciste falta" ("I missed you").
Choose the correct object pronoun. To say "I miss you" in Spanish, you must use an object pronoun to identify the person you miss. If you're speaking directly to the person, you would use the object pronoun for "you." The phrase "me haces falta" is an exception, because you use the object pronoun for yourself, me, instead of the object pronoun for the person to whom you're speaking. The Spanish language has formal and informal variations of you. If you are speaking to someone with whom you are not on familiar terms, you would use the formal variation. Generally, you wouldn't be saying "I miss you" to someone with whom you're not close. For this reason, the word te is most commonly used in Spanish phrases meaning "I miss you." This word is the direct object pronoun for the second person familiar tú, meaning "you." Since this is the familiar form of the word "you," it should only be used with friends and family. If for some reason you need to express this sentiment to someone with whom you're not on familiar terms, replace te with lo (masculine) or la (feminine). These are the formal object pronouns for usted, the polite, formal variation of "you." If you are speaking about missing several people (for example, if you are telling a couple that you miss them both), you would use the plural direct object pronoun for "you," which is os.
Conjugating Spanish Verbs
Learn the verb echar. The word echo in te echo de menos is the first-person conjugation of the verb echar, which has a variety of meanings. Some translations of echar include "to send forth," "to send away," "to throw out," or "to place." To say "I miss you" in Spanish using the verb echar, you'll use the first-person present form of the verb. If you wanted to say "she misses you," you would use the third-person present form of the verb, echa. The full expression of this phrase would be "te echa de menos." The third-person plural would be "te echan de menos" ("They miss you"). To say "we miss you," use the first-person plural form: "te echamos de menos."
Use the verb extrañar. If you're going to say "te extraño," you're using the verb extrañar, which means "to miss." The way you conjugate this verb depends on who is speaking, and the tense in which they're speaking. If you want to say that another person misses the person to whom you are speaking, you would say "te extraña," which would mean "he (or she) misses you." Note that the direct object pronoun, te, does not change. The person to whom you're speaking still is the object of the verb, but the conjugation of the verb indicates that another person is doing the missing. Perhaps you want to say that you and another person are both missing the person to whom you're speaking. You would say te extrañamos," which means "we miss you." To say "they miss you" in Spanish, use the third-person plural conjugation of the verb: "te extrañan."
Try the verb hacer. When you use the phrase "me haces falta" to say "I miss you" in Spanish, you need to conjugate the verb hacer, which means "to do, make, or cause." When conjugated as haces, it means "you make" or "you cause." The verb conjugation should agree with the pronoun for the person being missed, not the person doing the missing. For this reason, if you want to say "we miss you" using this phrase, the verb conjugation stays the same ("haces"), but the object pronoun would change: "nos faces falta." Note that this phrase is constructed differently than the direct English translation, and you're using the second-person present tense conjugation of the verb. If you said "te hago falta," which seems like a direct translation (hago is the first-person present tense conjugation of the verb hacer), you would actually be saying "You miss me." This construction is similar to the French phrase for "I miss you," "tu me manques," which more literally means "you are being missed by me."
Learning Related Phrases
Ask "¿cuándo vuelves?" to find out when the person will return. This is a question that might frequently follow the statement that you miss someone. After saying that you miss them, it's only natural to inquire when they will be back. Cuándo is a Spanish adverb meaning "when." Vuelves is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb volver, which means "to return" or "to come back." It is the "you" familiar conjugation, so only use it when speaking to someone with whom you're on familiar terms. If you are speaking to someone with whom you're less familiar, you might want to use the more formal conjugation vuelve. Pronounce cuándo vuelves as "KWAN-doh voo-EHL-vays."
Demand "¡Regresa ya!" If you've told someone you miss them, you probably want them to come back. Rather than ask when they're returning, you may want to simply tell them to come back. "¡Regresa ya!" means "come back already!" Regresa comes from the Spanish verb "regresar," meaning "to return" or "come back." In this phrase, you must use the imperative conjugation for "tú," the familiar "you." The imperative is used for commands like this. Ya is an adverb meaning "already." Pronounce the entire command as "ray-GRE-sah jah."
Exclaim "¡no puedo estar sin ti!" Particularly in a romantic context, when you miss someone you may feel as though you cannot live without them. This exclamatory Spanish phrase means "I cannot be without you." Puedo is the "I" or "yo" conjugation for the Spanish verb "poder," meaning "can" or "to be able to." When no is placed before it, the meaning becomes negative, turning the phrase into "I cannot." Estar is a Spanish verb meaning "to be." Since it follows a conjugated verb, do not conjugate estar. Sin means "without." Ti is another object pronoun used for the familiar form of "you." Pronounce the entire declaration as "no poo-AY-doh EHS-tar seen tee."
Tell the person you wish they were with you. When you miss someone, you want them to be with you rather than for the two of you to be apart. This is especially true in a romantic relationship, where you can use the phrase "desearia que estuvieras aqui conmigo" to mean "I wish you were here with me." Deseria is a conjugation of the Spanish verb desear, which means "to want." Que is a Spanish conjunction or pronoun meaning "that," "who," or "which." Estuvieras is a conjugation of the Spanish verb estar, which means "to be." Aquí is a Spanish adverb meaning "here." The word has both a place and time component, so it can be interpreted as meaning "here and now." Conmigo is a Spanish pronoun that means "with me." Pronounce this phrase as "DAY-say-uh-REE-uh kuh ess-too-bee-AIR-us ah-KEY cone-MEE-go."
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