How to say I Miss You in Spanish: 6 everyday expressions

Language is a powerful tool for expressing emotions. So when it comes to conveying the feeling of missing someone, we can choose from a variety of heartfelt expressions for how to say I miss you in Spanish.

Whether you’re far from a loved one or you want to add a touch of sentiment to your messages, mastering the art of saying I miss you in Spanish can deepen your emotional connections.

In today’s post, we’ll explore different ways to express longing in the romantic language of Spanish.

Te extraño

Te extraño is a direct and very common expression for saying I miss you in Spanish. It’s used when addressing someone familiar, such as a friend, family member, or a loved one.

We can emphasize the sentiment by adding quantifiers such as mucho, tanto, or un montón, as well as other superlatives, to say I miss you a lot in Spanish

• ¡Hola, mamá! Te extraño, ya quiero estar en casa y abrazarte. – Hi, Mom! I miss you, I want to be home and hug you.

• Querido Juan, no sabes cuánto te extraño. Sueño cada noche con verte. – Dear Juan, you don’t know how much I miss you. I dream every night of seeing you.

• Ay, hermanita. ¡Te extraño un montón! Te espero en vacaciones para divertirnos juntas como antes. – Oh, sis, I miss you so much! I’ll be waiting for you on vacation so we can have fun together like we used to.

Te echo de menos

This phrase is another way of expressing the sentiment of I miss you in Spanish. Te echo de menos comes from the ancient Portuguese phrase “achar de menos,” meaning “to find something missing.” When it was adapted into the Spanish language the verb echar, meaning to throw, was used because it sounded similar to the Portuguese “achar.” This explains why we need to understand the phrase’s idiomatic meaning rather than relying on its literal translation, which is approximately I throw you from less.

Just like te extraño, we can use quantifiers and superlatives to add more feeling to it.

• Te echo tanto de menos, Luisa, eres la mejor amiga que pueda existir. – I miss you so much, Luisa, you are the best friend there is.

• Me daba vergüenza decírtelo, pero te echo de menos cuando te vas a casa de tus padres. – I was ashamed to tell you, but I miss you when you go to your parents’ house.

• ¡Hola, hija! Llamo para recordarte que te amo y que te echo muchísimo de menos. – Hello, daughter! I’m calling to remind you that I love you and I miss you so much.

Me haces falta

This is another heartfelt way to say I miss you in Spanish. Me haces falta translates literally as you’re lacking to me, so it’s a great way to convey that someone is essential or lacking in your life. This expression is slightly more intense as a way of expressing the feeling of missing someone than the others we’ve seen so far.

The verb faltar functions differently than most verbs, since the person being missed or “making a lack” is the subject, while the person who misses them and feels the lack is the verb’s direct object. We explain the functioning of this type of verb in our post on gustar, as well as in our related lesson on similar “reverse” verbs.

• No sabes cómo me haces falta, abuelita. Te daré un fuerte abrazo cuando te vea. – You don’t know how much I miss you, grandma. I will give you a big hug when I see you.

• Me haces mucha falta, las cosas no son lo mismo sin ti. – I miss you so much, things are not the same without you.

• Siempre me haces falta cuando te vas de vacaciones. – I always miss you when you go on vacation.

Te necesito

The straight translation of this phrase is I need you. It’s common to use te necesito in situations where the absence of the person is felt on a deeper level, implying a need for their presence. It’s a pretty emphatic way of expressing missing you in Spanish.

• El trabajo es una pesadilla si no estás para hacerme reír. Te necesito. – Work is a nightmare if you’re not there to make me laugh. I need you.

• En verdad quiero verte pronto. Te necesito. – I really want to see you soon. I need you.

Desearía que estuvieras/estuvieses aquí

This phrase translates approximately as I wish you were here, and is a more indirect way of expressing the longing for someone’s presence.

Gramatically, the verb desear, meaning to wish or to desire, is conjugated in the conditional tense as desearía. Followed by que, this triggers the subjunctive in the subsequent verb estar. We use the imperfect subjunctive in this phrase, which has the two possible conjugations that we’ve listed here: estuvieras or estuvieses.

• Ya compré mi vestido para la fiesta. Desearía que estuvieses aquí para ir juntas. – I already bought my dress for the party. I wish you were here to go together.

• No sé qué preparar para la cena del trabajo. Desearía que estuvieras aquí; a todos les encanta tu comida. – I don’t know what to prepare for the work dinner. I wish you were here; everyone loves your food.

Ojalá estuvieras/estuvieses aquí

Our final option for expressing I miss you in Spanish has approximately the same meaning as the previous one, as I wish you were here or if only you were here.

The same grammatical explanation applies regarding the two possible forms for estar in the imperfect subjunctive tense, whereas the subjunctive trigger word works without que. Ojalá can translate along the lines of I hope, I wish, or even if only.

• Ojalá estuvieras aquí, papá. Sé que te encantaría ver la nieve. – I wish you were here, Dad. I know you’d love to see the snow.

• ¡En dos semanas es la boda! Ojalá estuvieses aquí, necesito alguien con buen gusto que me ayude con la decoración. – The wedding is in two weeks! If only you were here, I need someone with good taste to help me with the decorations.

Responding to I miss you in Spanish

When someone tells you that they miss you in Spanish, it’s important to reciprocate the sentiment thoughtfully. Now that we’ve seen the various ways to tell someone you miss them in Spanish, let’s see the best ways to respond.

Yo también [te extraño, te echo de menos]

Yo también translates listerally as me too, so it’s a simple and direct way to reciprocate any sentiment.

You can also add detail by repeating the Spanish I miss you phrase that was said to you, as in yo también te extraño or yo también te echo de menos. These versions add more feeling by expressing I miss you too in Spanish.

• Te extraño muchísimo. / Yo también. – I miss you so much. / Me too.

• Desearía que estuvieses aquí. / Yo también. – I wish you were here. / Me too.
• Te extraño mucho, papá. / Yo también te extraño, querida. Ya falta poco para vernos. – I miss you so much, daddy. / I miss you too, my dear. It won’t be long now until we see each other.

• Te echo tanto de menos. / Yo también te echo de menos. – I miss you so much. / I miss you too.

Y yo a ti

This response translates directly as and I you, using the subject pronoun yo and the indirect object pronoun ti with the personal a. It’s a very common way to reciprocate the feeling of missing someone. Y yo a ti is a great response to te extraño, te echo de menos, and te necesito.

• No soporto más esta distancia, te necesito. / Y yo a ti, amor mío. – I can’t stand this distance anymore, I need you / I need you too, my love.

• Te extraño un montón. / Y yo a ti. – I miss you a lot. / I miss you a lot too.

• No tienes idea de cómo te echo de menos. / Y yo a ti, todos los días. – You have no idea how I miss you. / And I miss you too, every day.

Y tú a mí

This response only works with me haces falta because the subject tú is the person who is missed, while mí is the person expressing the missing. So, when you respond y tú a mí, you mean that the person you’re addressing is causing a lack in you as well.

• Me haces mucha falta. / Y tú a mí. – I miss you very much. / I miss you too.

Conclusion

Well done! Now you’re equipped with the full array of heartfelt options to express your longing for loved ones.

We learned that the most common way to say I miss you in Spanish is te extraño. Then we covered similar phrases, including the idiomatic expression te echo de menos, the much stronger te necesito, and a couple of options for saying I wish you were here in Spanish. We saw how me haces falta functions differently than the others, since the statement’s subject is the person who’s missed.

As we do with all of our posts, we provided plenty of examples to make sure you get the hang of each expression.

Finally, we wrapped up with a number of ways to respond to I miss you in Spanish. Now you’re equipped to tell someone you miss them too!