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12 Differences Between Like and Love You Need To Know

Sophie Simons
December 31, 2023

How do you know you like or love someone? It’s kinda hard to figure out our own emotions sometimes. If you wanna see a clear picture of your heart, just dive into the post to find out.

When you take the journey from “Wow! You look cool” to “I wish the time would freeze right here,” that’s the moment you realize you’re in love with that person. From that spontaneous attraction to the transforming nature of love, it’s a world of countless emotions.

Love and like differ in many ways. Most people confuse these terms as both are connected to your heart. Liking is more about feeling good about someone or something. Love is a much deeper and stronger emotion that creates a strong attachment to that person.

To understand love vs. like, you don’t have to drown yourself in years of research. Keep reading, and you’ll spot the key differences between love and like that you might have known but never actually noticed.

Loving vs. Liking

There’s no denying the fact that love is a way more powerful emotion than a temporary feeling of like. Let’s check out a few differences between love and like that will help you realize how you truly feel about someone. 

1. Caring for someone 

Love is not a verbal commitment but rather a heart-to-heart connection that teaches you to care for the person who means the world to you. 

Even a little bruise on the head or a cut on their hand can make you feel like calling an ambulance. Instead of buying your loved one the most expensive gifts in the world, you simply help them with their routine chores. You care about how to make them happy and feel cared for.

On the other hand, liking someone is not so hard or worrisome. You may feel concerned for the time being, but you don’t have a long-term commitment involved.

2. Love is Unconditional

Love doesn’t define parameters. When you love someone, you just love’em. Your love does not grow weak even if things don’t go the way you pictured.

Even with all the hardships and challenges life throws at you, your bond still remains as strong as ever. A classic example would be a parent-child relationship.

Liking is like finding a good-looking dude or a hot chick to chill with for a bit and then moving on when you spot someone you think is even cooler.

3. Attraction 

Love isn’t just about being hung up on how someone looks. If you’re truly in love, they’d rock a rag and still look stunning. It’s not just wanting to be close; it’s thinking about spending your whole life with them and figuring out how to make it work.

However, when you like someone, you’re more inclined towards their physical features rather than trying to figure out the real person inside. All the initial butterflies tend to fade once you’ve spent a night together.

4. Liking is Less Painful

Losing someone you really love is a lot harder than losing someone you just met. When a strong relationship ends, your heart feels like it is being shattered into pieces, and it takes an eternity to recover. But when you just like someone, letting them go is much simpler and easier.

5. Intensity

Love is on a whole other level – it’s intense, and anyone around can feel the magnetic connection between you two. It’s in the way your eyes light up with warmth and affection when you gaze at your partner.

It’s the kind of compassion you feel for them, the kind that makes you willing to sacrifice anything, even your own life, just to ensure their well-being.

Liking is not as deep as love. Liking is kinda like enjoying someone’s company, but you might bail if you think they could get you in trouble.

6. Compromise

Love is not about making your partner compromise on things they most love to do. Instead, you assist them if they’re going through tough times. 

Compromises in a relationship should only go as far as both of you feel genuinely happy and satisfied. If you’re giving up your freedom and your authentic self, that’s not love; it’s a one-sided relationship.

Liking someone doesn’t require making big promises. You like them, you stick to them, you don’t – you just let them go.

7. Level of Commitment

You’re more committed to the person you love rather than a person you just like or know for a while. Even if you’re not married, still love teaches you that similar dedication – to love your partner in each and every way.

8. Love at first sight

You can like a person at first sight. You may feel attracted to their appearance, their way of talking, or their nice behavior toward you. Your like is based on what you see without knowing much about that individual.

Love takes time to build. You may never know when you fell deeply in love with someone or when it all started. Love is about nurturing your relationship and giving it the time and space it needs.

9. Setting Priorities

Even with all the rush around you, you manage to schedule time for your loved one. You always remember the important stuff, like birthdays and anniversaries, and you make an effort to show your partner they’re special and mean a lot to you.

If you’re into liking someone, you don’t need a diary to keep track of everything. You can always ditch an uncomfortable date for a friend’s night out.

10. Accepting the Dark Side

Love makes you accept people the way they really are from the inside. You shield them from their imperfection and wholeheartedly accept all their good and bad traits. 

Liking someone often means you’re trying to paint a picture of Prince Charming in your head. You might hold back on sharing your most embarrassing or deepest secrets because there’s a bit of hesitation and a trust gap.

11. Power of Transformation

Love has the power to change you completely. Sometimes, you would feel amazed at yourself at how much you’ve transformed over time in pursuit of making your loved ones happy. 

There are stories of people (addicts mostly) who recovered completely only because their love for family and friends was strong enough to pull them back. 

Liking doesn’t really shake up your life, and you are not too concerned about tweaking that person’s looks and habits or even making changes to yourself.

12. Love is not age-restricted

Love grows stronger with time. It’s about caring for that person the same way even when you turn 80 years old. You’ll be out of your honeymoon phase by then, but the spark still remains.

Liking someone makes you feel excited about that person. You enjoy spending time with them. But if you find something unpleasant about that person, you just move on to someone else without looking back.

“I Love You” and “I Like You”: What’s the difference?

When someone says “I like you,” it means, they like your appearance or traits and want to spend some time with you without making tons of commitment. Liking someone can be quick, exciting, and a bit unpredictable.

A person saying “I love you” got more intense emotions and a higher commitment level. It’s a feeling when you know you can’t survive without that person and are willing to spend your entire life with that one person.

Can liking someone turn into love?

Did someone ever take your breath away, or did you ever feel nervous talking to someone special?…

It’s almost impossible not to develop feelings for someone you really like or adore. It all starts when you find yourself falling for someone. They seem pleasing to you, but later, you begin noticing flaws in them.

When you’re cool with all their stuff, and it hits you that they’re the ONE, that’s when your liking upgrades to love. It’s about being okay with the real them, not some idealized version in your head.

If you still bring flowers and your partner’s favorite chocolates on your 40th anniversary…then that love.

Conclusion

After going through the post, you can easily determine whether you like or love someone. Love makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and it can stick around forever for your partner, family, or friends. 

But if it’s just liking someone, and you’re apart for a bit, you might forget them pretty quickly. After a while, they could just be a sweet memory in your head.

Ultimately, it’s a journey of emotions that has the power to change people and create a meaningful bond that will last a lifetime. 

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Sophie Simons

Sophie Simons

Sophie Simons is a leading psychologist with a passion for enriching relationships. Through empathetic counseling and insightful guidance, she empowers couples and individuals to foster deeper connections, resolve conflicts, and create lasting harmony. Sophie's expertise in relationship advice has touched countless lives, making her a trusted source for building fulfilling partnerships.

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