(This is an update of a list I did last January. I've added a few more signs.)
"There's this guy," the question always starts, "and he does this and he said that and sometimes he does this other thing," you continue. Then comes the actual question, one we get at least twice a day, every day:
"Does this mean he likes me?"
Not that it isn't a valid question. Some guys can be hard to read. Not as hard as women, but still a challenge. Problem is, there is no way to know absolutely if a guy likes you, short of him saying so (and even then he might be lying). Every situation is different, every guy is different, and there are always exceptions.
But here's the good news: there are things most guys do when they like a girl that can give them away. If a guy does one of these things, it probably doesn't mean much; if he does 4-5 of them, then there's a good chance he likes you. Not a guarantee, but a good chance. You just have to know what to look for.
He smiles at you. A lot.
He laughs at your jokes, even the crappy ones.
He defends you to others.
He asks questions about you and your life beyond the generic "How you doin'?" or "Good weekend?"
He jokes about dating you.
You catch him staring at you. Your face, that is--if he's staring at your boobs or butt, it could just mean he's perving on you.
He's awkward whenever he talks to you. The first time I talked to my wife, I walked into a parking meter. Luckily for me, she found it adorable.
His body language gives him away: standing too close, leaning in, shoulders square to you, not turning his back to you.
He always uses your name when he talks to you. He knows your name and likes to say it.
He calls you by a nickname/pet name.
He asks you to "hang out" some time. (To a guy, the word date can be like garlic to a vampire, so they'll say "hang out" instead. Whatever you call it, it still means he wants to be around you.)
He calls you on the phone. Most guys hate talking on the phone. If a guy calls you, it means one of three things: you're his best friend, he needs help with his homework, or he has the itchy pants for you.
He acts more respectable and mature when you're around.
He compliments your appearance. "You look nice today" is guyspeak for "I'm attracted to you."
When he cracks a joke, you're the first person he looks at for a reaction.
You keep bumping into him in random places. "I was just in the neighborhood," he says, or, "I had no idea you ate here." Right.
He tries go get into the same classes as you.
He copies your actions and voice inflections. It's called mirroring, and we usually aren't aware of it when we do it, which is why it's such a great indicator that someone is into you.
He buddies up to your friends and asks them questions about you. He knows they will probably report back to you, but he doesn't care.
He touches you, even subtly--a hand on your arm, a pat on your back, a grab of your shoulders. Humans are naturally drawn to things that attract us--we want to look at them, touch them. If you find a guy's hand on you, especially more than once, that's a huge giveaway that he likes you.
His pupils dilate when he's talking to you.
He's active on your Facebook or Twitter pages. Lots of "likes," comments, retweets, etc.
He asks you what you think about certain other guys. He's trying to find out if you like anyone.
He shares an iTunes playlist with you: the 21st century version of making you a mix tape.
He asks your advice about other girls. This one could go either way, but getting your take on relationships could be his crafty way of finding out what you like and don't like. Or maybe he's just trying to make you jealous.
He notices and remembers things about you that most people don't. Your birthday. What you wore on a certain day. Your favorite TV show. When and where you met your best friend. What you had for lunch yesterday. Average Joe won't remember that stuff, even if you tell him. Hot For You remembers all of it (but if he knows stuff about you that you never told him--creeper alert!).
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask the question again. We may or may not refer you to this list.
"There's this guy," the question always starts, "and he does this and he said that and sometimes he does this other thing," you continue. Then comes the actual question, one we get at least twice a day, every day:
"Does this mean he likes me?"
Not that it isn't a valid question. Some guys can be hard to read. Not as hard as women, but still a challenge. Problem is, there is no way to know absolutely if a guy likes you, short of him saying so (and even then he might be lying). Every situation is different, every guy is different, and there are always exceptions.
But here's the good news: there are things most guys do when they like a girl that can give them away. If a guy does one of these things, it probably doesn't mean much; if he does 4-5 of them, then there's a good chance he likes you. Not a guarantee, but a good chance. You just have to know what to look for.
He smiles at you. A lot.
He laughs at your jokes, even the crappy ones.
He defends you to others.
He asks questions about you and your life beyond the generic "How you doin'?" or "Good weekend?"
He jokes about dating you.
You catch him staring at you. Your face, that is--if he's staring at your boobs or butt, it could just mean he's perving on you.
He's awkward whenever he talks to you. The first time I talked to my wife, I walked into a parking meter. Luckily for me, she found it adorable.
His body language gives him away: standing too close, leaning in, shoulders square to you, not turning his back to you.
He always uses your name when he talks to you. He knows your name and likes to say it.
He calls you by a nickname/pet name.
He asks you to "hang out" some time. (To a guy, the word date can be like garlic to a vampire, so they'll say "hang out" instead. Whatever you call it, it still means he wants to be around you.)
He calls you on the phone. Most guys hate talking on the phone. If a guy calls you, it means one of three things: you're his best friend, he needs help with his homework, or he has the itchy pants for you.
He acts more respectable and mature when you're around.
He compliments your appearance. "You look nice today" is guyspeak for "I'm attracted to you."
When he cracks a joke, you're the first person he looks at for a reaction.
You keep bumping into him in random places. "I was just in the neighborhood," he says, or, "I had no idea you ate here." Right.
He tries go get into the same classes as you.
He copies your actions and voice inflections. It's called mirroring, and we usually aren't aware of it when we do it, which is why it's such a great indicator that someone is into you.
He buddies up to your friends and asks them questions about you. He knows they will probably report back to you, but he doesn't care.
He touches you, even subtly--a hand on your arm, a pat on your back, a grab of your shoulders. Humans are naturally drawn to things that attract us--we want to look at them, touch them. If you find a guy's hand on you, especially more than once, that's a huge giveaway that he likes you.
His pupils dilate when he's talking to you.
He's active on your Facebook or Twitter pages. Lots of "likes," comments, retweets, etc.
He asks you what you think about certain other guys. He's trying to find out if you like anyone.
He shares an iTunes playlist with you: the 21st century version of making you a mix tape.
He asks your advice about other girls. This one could go either way, but getting your take on relationships could be his crafty way of finding out what you like and don't like. Or maybe he's just trying to make you jealous.
He notices and remembers things about you that most people don't. Your birthday. What you wore on a certain day. Your favorite TV show. When and where you met your best friend. What you had for lunch yesterday. Average Joe won't remember that stuff, even if you tell him. Hot For You remembers all of it (but if he knows stuff about you that you never told him--creeper alert!).
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask the question again. We may or may not refer you to this list.
You just described my ex-bf. Explain to me again why I let him get away? Scared I guess. Damn…
Well, this was a great way to start my morning, cary! The guy I like does almost everything on here.. I did think he liked me, but having a guy's opinion on it sure helps. Thanks!
Related to staring at you is eye contact. When someone likes you there is a lot of eye contact.
I think my favorite telltale sign is the last one: he remembers and notices things about you that most people don't. My boyfriend went from being a friend to being a romantic prospect for this very reason. I had become a pro at hiding my emotions or nervousness etc (my last relationship had taught me to "suckup" difficulties and to not even flinch when things stung), but we'd hang out with our mutual group of friends and somehow he always recognized when I was out of sorts or even when I was trying to keep some sort of happy secret to myself. Even now, I still don't know how he does it, but it makes me smile every time we go out to dinner and he knows exactly how to order for me (and I'm a food snob, so it really amazes me when this happens).
What about those that are obssessed with you? Don't they exhibit the same signs???
What if a guy did al this things and then suddenly stopped? Does that means he doesn't likes me anymore? He got scared? All of the above?
Sounds like he may have moved on. Just think about it for a second: what do you do when you have lost interest in something? Do you keep on paying attention to it or just let it not be the main focus everyday?