How to Write a Love Letter in Spanish

Valentine’s Day is coming. Romance is in the air and you want to write a love letter for your crush or your significant other. He or she happens to be a Spanish speaker, so writing a love letter in Spanish sounds like a great idea.

It can be flattering for them and an excellent exercise for you, particularly if you’re learning the language and looking to improve your writing skills.

It is also an original romantic gift because not many people deliver letters today, not even in person. But if you’re reading this, it’s because you believe there’s something unique about hand-written letters or because it is easier for you to express your feelings with pen and paper.

Or maybe you want to stay in the modern age and send an email instead. Maybe it’s your only choice because he or she is momentarily far away from you.

If you finally decide that you want to compose an email for him or her, take into account that the same rules apply for either a love letter or a romantic email in Spanish.

How to start a love letter in Spanish

A love letter should include the date

It might not seem truly relevant now, but when the time passes and your partner finds your love letter in his or her drawer again, it can be magical for him/her to see the date.

You should write the date on the top right of the paper. The format of the date in the Hispanic world is slightly different than the American format. It’s 'day + month + year' and it uses the possessive “de” in between.

For example: instead of “February 14th, 2022” in Spanish you would write “14 de febrero de 2022”.

If you want to add the exact day of the week, you can add it at the start: “Lunes, 14 de febrero de 2022”.

What’s the most appropriate personal pronoun for a love letter in Spanish?

There are certain kinds of letters and emails that require you to opt for a different personal pronoun (and its corresponding verbal conjugations) depending on the level of formality.

The level of formality is given by how close your relationship with the receiver is. But let’s be careful about this —there are exceptions.

For example, if you’re declaring your romantic interest to a crush you don’t know very well, you may feel tempted to use the formal pronoun “usted”. But if your crush is roughly the same age as you, he or she will find it weird.

Spanish speakers do not usually use “usted” to talk to a person who is the same age or younger than them.

“Usted” is more common among elder people (when they don’t know each other very well) or when a young person talks to an elder or an authority figure.

So it’s probably not a good idea to address your crush as “usted” unless you’re a very respectful, formal elder writing a love letter in Spanish to a fellow elder (why not?).

Opening lines for a love letter in Spanish

Given that you’ll most likely be writing a love letter in a casual tone, you should know how to start an informal letter in Spanish first.

Many people who are learning Spanish tend to use the words «estimado(a)» and «querido(a)» interchangeably. This is not technically wrong because it’s true that both of these words can be translated as “dear”. They have pretty much the same meaning and you can actually find them listed as synonyms in a Spanish dictionary.

But in practice, «estimado(a)» is widely used in formal letters and it would be weird to use it in a letter for a friend or family member —or, in this case, in a love letter for a romantic partner.

You can use «querido(a) + [his or her name]» instead. Remember that almost everything is gendered in Spanish, starting with people, and the gender of the word or the person slightly alters the adjective modifying it. This way, «querido» is for males and «querida» is for females. So you can write “querido Juan” or “querida María” but not vice versa.

You can add “mi” before “querido(a)” to write “My dear [Juan, María]”. Or use “amor” instead of his or her name to write “My dear love”. Or simply “mi amor” to say “my love”.

As you can see, love letters enable additional options to the most common opening lines of informal letters. You can even start the letter using his or her pet nickname if you think he or she will like it.

Just don’t try to translate your greeting (or anything, really) directly from the English language —the translation might be correct but it might not sound natural in Spanish.

For example, «to my one true love» translates to «a mi único amor verdadero», which is correct in both grammar and meaning, but it’s uncommon and does not sound natural as a love letter opening line (it could even imply that you have other “loves” out there!).

What to write in a love letter in Spanish

After this short introduction, you may want to explain to your lover why you’re writing this letter.

Here are some examples to give you a better idea of what to write:

Then, comes the part when you explain your thoughts and feelings about this special person in your life.

Of course, love letters are an extremely personal thing, for which the specifics are up to you and what you really want to say to him/her.

But here are some phrases that may come in handy:

Remembering past days with your significant other

At some point in your letter, you may want to remember some of your first and/or most cherished memories of your relationship with your partner.

If you haven’t thought about that, well, this is a great time to consider it, as memories in common are a normal, beautiful thing to share in love letters.

This “nostalgia-based” resource can help you write a more personal and emotive love letter in Spanish as well as in English, and your partner may feel especially praised that you remember such things, even if they’re little things such as the way he or she was dressed the first time you went out to the cinema or whatever you like to do together.

So why not try it? Just focus on the happiest (or funniest) memories that include him or her.

What do you like most about your partner or your crush?

A love letter is a perfect opportunity to praise your partner or your crush in a unique way. Apart from describing your feelings about him or her, you can tell him or her exactly why you feel what you feel. Think about what you like most about him or her and write it down in your love letter in Spanish.

Here is some basic vocabulary to talk about a person’s physical traits:

These words are key when you’re saying that you like or love any physical trait of your significant other. The phrase should start with «Me gusta/me encanta tu…».

Remember that the difference between «me gusta» or «me encanta» is in the level of enthusiasm:

• «me gusta» is closer to the English verb “like”
• «me encanta» is more similar to “love”

But of course, everybody is more than a pretty face —your partner or crush is not the exception. What do you like about his or her personality? Here is some basic vocabulary to address some of the best personality traits that a special romantic partner can have:

How to finish a love letter in Spanish

Now that you’ve recapitulated the most special moments of your relationship with your partner, you may want to reaffirm your love for him/her. This is the moment to use phrases like:

• «siempre te amaré» (“I will always love you”)
• «espero que podamos pasar más tiempo juntos pronto»
  (“I hope we can spend more time together soon”)
• «te amo con toda mi alma/con todo mi corazón»
  (“I love you with my whole soul/heart”)

Typically, after you’ve kind of gone back to the beginning of the letter, you may want to write a closing line. Closing lines for love letters are similar to those on other kinds of informal letters, but generally, they have a more romantic touch.

For example, you can go for «con amor» (“with love”) which you could also use in a letter to your mom (it’s just another kind of love, right?) or you can be more romantic and write «con todo mi amor» (“with all my love”; in Spanish, the emphasis makes it more romantic)

Other possible closing lines for a Spanish love letter include:

• «por siempre tuyo/a» (“forever yours”)
• «te amo por siempre» (“loving you forever”)
• «gracias por todo» (“thank you for everything”)
• «muchos besos» (“many kisses”)

Here you are more allowed to unleash your imagination, so don’t be shy and write a custom closing line for your love letter in Spanish.

Although people say that French is the most romantic language in the world (see this guide on writing a love letter in French), Spanish has a lot of potential in that area, too —you just have to dare to try and be creative.