Although I love you and I like you are both used to depicting emotions, they have different meanings.
For starters, the difference between I love you, and I like you has something to do with the depth of your emotions towards somebody or something.
For instance, If you say you like somebody, you probably enjoy having them around, but when you say you love someone, it means you cannot bear to be without them.
“I love you” is not only used by lovers in a romantic relationship. It is used to show an unconditional feeling, regardless of romance. If it weren’t so, siblings wouldn’t say they love each other.
Moreso, It takes time to develop a love for a person. Meanwhile, you can easily like a person after spending a few minutes with them.
Let us thoroughly examine the key differences between I love you, and I like you.
What is the Difference Between I love you and I like you?
Here are some of the key differences between I love you, and I like you
1. Physical Attractiveness
“I like you” is more about physical characteristics — you like a person because they’re attractive or intelligent. Meanwhile, love goes beyond physical appearance.
Although most love stories begin with physical attraction, to become love, it must supersede physical characteristics.
2. Time Frame
One difference between ‘I love you and I like you’ is the time frame. You can easily like someone you met today, but with love, it takes more time to develop.
You may learn to love someone you like by being around them for a while.
Take it from us; the popular phrase “love at first sight” is fictional!
3. You Pay More Attention to Someone You Love
If you love someone, you will find conversations with the person fun. You will listen more to a person you love and may never get bored around them.
However, if you like a person, you may not pay as much attention to them. With time, you may begin to find them boring.
4. Depth of Emotions
One major difference between I love you, and I like you is the depth of emotions. Love is more of an intense affection towards someone. You cannot imagine losing someone you love.
On the other hand, you are simply happy with a person you like— there is no intense affection.
5. Love is Unconditional
If you love someone, you are not ashamed of them, whether others consider them good enough or not.
However, with someone you like, you may only flaunt them because they look great.
6. Love Lasts Longer
Love can last for a very long time; meanwhile, “like” either graduate to love or fade away with time.
7. Barrier
While love endures long distances, “like” may easily fade away when you don’t see the person for a long time.
8. You are Real with People You Love
When you love someone, you are free around them. You want to be a better version of yourself, but when you like someone, you want to put up your best behaviour when they are around to impress them.
9. Tendency to Accept Flaws
Another difference between I love you, and I like you is the ability to accept flaws. With love, you can easily accept the person’s flaws, but when you like someone, you may easily get irritated by their flaws.
10. Love Sees Beyond Imperfections
When you love someone, you are not blind to the person’s imperfection. However, your love for the person supersedes your flaws. But when you like someone, they are only perfect in your eyes for as long as you want them.
11. You only Tolerate People You Like
When you love someone, you correct them when they are wrong, regardless of how the truth will feel. But with someone you like, you tolerate their mistakes until you can’t.
12. Sexual Urge
Love goes beyond physical attraction and urges for sexual intimacy. But when you like someone, you have a strong urge to have sex with the person.
13. You take Care of People You Love
When you love someone, you always want to care for the person. It does not matter whether they reciprocate the care.
Meanwhile, you will only take care of a person you like if they reciprocate.
Conclusion
Over the course of this article, we’ve tried to differentiate I love you, and I like you as it is often misconstrued in some settings, and we believe we did an excellent job on the subject matter.
If you need clarity on this article, let us know in the comments section below.