Looking for signs that he loves you? Not sure about his intentions? Not sure whether you understand his words and actions right? This article contains answers to your questions!

First of all, I’d like to emphasize that this article is about signs that he loves you, not about signs that he likes you. Is the difference that important? – you would ask. Yes! A man may like several women at the same time but there’s usually one he likes most. A man may date a woman that he likes but that relationship may have no future because there’s no love. There’re many signs that he likes you but it doesn’t mean that he loves you, don’t be mistaken.

Staring at you for the whole evening at a party or looking at you whenever you laugh are obvious signs of his interest but they don’t signify that he’s already in love with you. Love is a deep feeling which doesn’t appear at once. It takes both women and men some time for the feeling to mature and turn into love. Not all people who are dating feel love for their partner and some of them never will. If after years of a relationship there’s still no love, it probably won’t last forever. Keep reading for some clear signs that he loves you.

RELATED: 24 Beautiful Quotes About Love that will help you understand what a healthy relationship should be like.

Signs that he loves you

He is protective of you

Naturally a man wants to protect who or what is important to him: his woman, his children, his family, his property. So, if he defends you, supports you, makes sure you’re safe (for example, doesn’t let you cross the street until he’s checked that there are no cars), congratulations, it’s almost always a clear sign that he loves you.

However, be cautious and pay attention to other signs because some men (manipulators, read more about manipulators here) have mastered behavior that women fall for, so they use it to easily seduce sensitive and vulnerable women. I recommend you to read 15 Hidden Signs He’s Not Into You to make sure his intentions are not malicious.

He seems nervous around you

If you’ve just started dating or if you’re not even dating yet, and he’s nervous around you, it’s a clear sign that it is more than just some casual interest. If he didn’t care about you much, he would be calm and collected. Pay attention to this sign because this is how you can tell if a guy is a player. Players are calm and collected, their speech is brilliant, their behavior is charming. Do you know why? Firstly, because they don’t care if they make a mistake and lose you. Secondly, because they’ve done it many times with other women. They are well-trained to charm and seduce women.

He has never told you anything that would hurt you

Remember! A man who is genuinely interested in a long-term healthy relationship with you doesn’t want to inflict you any pain. He will never tell you that he is seeing someone else or that he likes someone else besides you, because it should hurt you and scare you away.

If a man tells you that you may not be the only one, he wants to cause you pain for some reason. What may be the reasons? A few: he feels that you are insecure and vulnerable and such information will make you codependent (only insecure men use this trick); he doesn’t care about your feelings because he has no feelings for you (and often no empathy to anyone at all); he wants to revenge you for something (obviously, in this case, there’s no real love), etc.

A man who values you will also never tell you some unpleasant words that can hurt you whether it’s about your appearance, clothes, body, dreams, goals, achievements, etc. A loving man is supportive.

He chooses you over friends

Another sign that he loves you is making you his priority. No man who’s in love will ever sacrifice time he can spend with his beloved woman for time with his friends no matter how much he likes spending time with them. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean skipping a friend’s birthday for a regular date. Of course it’s absolutely okay if he wants to congratulate his friend on his birthday. But if he often chooses friends over you, it’s a sign that he’s just not that into you and looking for signs that he loves you may be too early. Don’t waste your precious time on someone who doesn’t want to spend their free time with you.

He wants to make you happy

Of course most humans want to make the ones they love happy because seeing them miserable is painful. But men seem to have an even greater desire to make the woman they love happy. So, a man who is in love with you will try to find out what makes you happy and then do more of what makes you happy even if it means that he has to sacrifice something for it (for example, to get up earlier than you to cook breakfast for you) or do something he doesn’t enjoy (clean the apartment or go to a concert of your favorite band he doesn’t like with you).

In case you’re looking for a gift for him to make him happy, see 53+ Best Christmas Gifts for Men, Christmas Gift Ideas for Him from Amazon, and 33 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him (Cute, Classy or Trendy?).

He is not stingy

If a man loves you, he will try to impress you and make you happy whatever it takes. If he’s not willing to spend a cent on you, he probably doesn’t care that much about you and thinks that money spent on you is wasted.

He is afraid to lose you

You know he’s afraid to lose you if he doesn’t use common manipulative tricks like playing hot and cold, hinting that he’s considering other options besides you, saying he’s too busy to meet you, etc.

My advice if you want to make him stay: don’t be clingy and needy, live your life as usual. If he’s afraid to lose you, he will make effort to make you stay.

He respects you

For me, love equals respect. If he doesn’t respect you: if he yells at you, if he humiliates you, if he abuses you or calls you swear words, if he plays with your feelings – there’s no respect. Such a relationship doesn’t have a future. Mutual respect is one of the main components of a healthy long-term relationship. Learn about other components required for a healthy relationship.

He texts or calls you daily

Calling or texting you daily is a sign that he loves you because if he’s in love with you, he wants as much communication with you as possible. Learn to distinguish casual flirting when he has nothing else to do from real interest and care even when he’s busy. Remember that people always make time for who or what is important to them.

He doesn’t try to end your date as soon as possible

If he cuts your dates short every now and then, it’s a warning sign. The truth is that he has more interesting things to do. But if he just can’t get enough of you and doesn’t want you to leave the date soon, that’s a sign that he loves you.

He wants to spend more time with you

If he’s in love with you, he wants to spend as much of his free time as possible with you and get to know you better. From now on, you’re one of the most important people in his life.

He is ready to help you with anything

Another sign that he loves you – he wants to help you solve your problems. It’s not a burden for him because naturally a man would want to impress his woman because he wants you to choose him over other men.

He values your opinion

As we already know, if he truly loves you, he respects you and if he respects you, he wants to know your opinion. He wants to know what you like and what you dislike. Even if you dislike something he likes, he will search for a compromise because your opinion matters to him.

He is interested in everything about you

If he tries to learn as much as possible about you whether by asking you questions, asking your friends and family about you or just paying close attention to your words and actions, it’s a clear sign that he loves you and wants to use this information to make you happy.

To show him you care about him too and to get to know him better, and maybe even notice some red flags early on, there is a list of 300+ deep questions to ask your boyfriend or crush.

He is ready to make sacrifices for you

Has he ever let you have the last bite of something delicious? If yes, good. But does he tend to do it every now and then just because he wants you to get the most delicious bite or because he genuinely wants to share?

Other sacrifices may include attending events he’s not fond of because you want to attend them; spending more time with you than with his friends or family; letting you choose restaurants, films, travel destinations, etc; spending money on buying something that would make you happy rather than on himself, etc.

He wants to introduce you to his family and friends

If he loves you and his intentions are serious, he wants to introduce you to other important people in his life. His friends and family will not only check you out but also they may tell you something interesting about your boyfriend. Perhaps even something he wouldn’t want them to share with you: like funny stories from his childhood, his failures, or peculiarities of his character. So, meeting his friends and family is an important occasion not only for you but for him too.

He lets you win

Whether it’s a game or an argument, a sign that he loves you – he lets you win. A mentally healthy partner doesn’t want to hurt you, he doesn’t want to quarrel with you, and he wants you to be happy. Of course if it’s something very serious and important, don’t expect him to easily let you “win” and possibly make a huge mistake, but if he knows that it won’t hurt anyone, he will let you win.

He cares about your comfort

If he loves you, he wants you to be safe and sound and comfortable. If he cares about your comfort not only when it seems like the right thing to do in order to make you believe he cares. In other words, if he always makes sure you’re comfortable, it means he truly cares. You’ll notice true care if you pay close attention to details.

You are in his future

If he says “we” more often than “I” referring to his future; if he has told his family and friends about you; if he makes plans for the future taking you and your opinion into consideration, it’s a sign that he loves you.

Now you know some signs that he loves you. However, no matter how sure you’re that he loves you, if you don’t know him well yet, pay attention to every little detail because some people are master manipulators. Here is a blogpost on how to deal with manipulative people.

Remember that a healthy relationship doesn’t require hard work. Love doesn’t mean you have to work for it no matter what other people may tell you about their relationships. Two loving, mentally healthy, and mature partners will surely build a healthy long-term relationship without lies, games, manipulation, abuse and pain. Read How to Build a Healthy Relationship.