Updated November 9, 2023

Do you know how to say “I miss you” in Spanish?

Get creative during these times and learn different ways to say “I miss you” in Spanish! Today I’ll show you 3 different ways you can express your love in Spanish, and briefly talk about the most popular ways of saying “I miss you.” If you’re interested in the video version, you can watch me here talking about how to say “I miss you” in Spanish. Let’s get started!

The most popular ways to say “I miss you”

First things first: there are two popular ways to say “I miss you” in Spanish. The first one is “te echo de menos” and the second one is “te extraño.” The former is mostly used in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, while the latter is common in Latin America and the US.

1. Te echo de menos

Literally translated “te echo de menos” means “I throw you less”. While the translation may not make much sense to English speakers, the Spanish saying is often used to express the feeling of something or someone missing in your life. Like when you’re traveling to a Spanish-speaking country and you miss your friends or family. If you want to say “I missed you” in Spanish, then you should go with “te eché de menos.” Next time you’re video calling or texting with your friends, use “te echo de menos” in your conversation. 

2. Te extraño

This phrase is mostly used in Latin American countries. Literally, the verb “extraño” means “to miss”, and “te” is the object pronoun for “you.” The extended version of this saying is “te extraño a ti”, where “a ti” (to you) is also an object pronoun. Moreover, “a ti” in this case is used for emphasis: “Te extraño a ti” (I miss you.) Again, if you are speaking in the past tense, you say “te extrañé” (I missed you.)

For example, how do you say in Spanish “I miss my boyfriend/girlfriend?” Using the forms above, you can say:

Echo de menos a mi novio/novia.

Extraño a mi novio/novia.

Besides the forms above, you can get creative with saying “I miss you:”

3. Me haces falta

Some of you may know this one from the Jenifer Lopez song “Me haces falta.” Roughly translated, it means “I am lacking you” or “you make me lack.” It can be used in the same manner as “te extraño.” In the past tense, the saying is “me hiciste falta” and it means “I missed you.” So if you’re missing someone a lot, go for:

Me haces mucha falta. (I miss you a lot.)

How to respond to “I miss you” in Spanish

Let’s say your friends call and tell you “te extraño” or “te echo de menos.” How do you reply? There are two ways you can respond:

Yo tambien (te extraño / te echo de menos.) (I miss you too.)

Y yo, a ti. (And I, you.)

Watch out for these grammar mistakes!

In Spanish, there’s a difference between using the verb “to miss” to express you miss someone and using the verb because you’re looking for something that you’re missing/lacking. As an example, something you misplaced.

Moreover, it’s very important that you don’t confuse “te echo en falta” and “me falta” with “me haces falta.” 

“Echo en falta” means “I am missing”. For example: Me falta mi chaqueta. (I am missing my jacket.)

“Me falta” means “I am lacking”. You can use this one when you’re waiting for a friend to arrive, or in an office meeting, and so on. For example, Me falta Maria en la aula. (I am missing Maria in the classroom.)

If you liked this lesson, check out this dialogue with “I miss you” in Spanish!

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