In Spain, I miss you is te echo de menos (teh EH-choh deh MEH-nohs). In most of Latin America people say te extraño (teh ehks-TRAH-nyoh). Both are understood everywhere. To say I miss you so much, put mucho in the middle: te echo mucho de menos. The natural reply is y yo a ti, and I miss you.
- I miss you (Spain)
- te echo de menos
- I miss you (Latin America)
- te extraño
- I miss you so much
- te echo mucho de menos
- Reply
- y yo a ti
- Level
- A1
Te echo de menos or te extraño?
Echar de menos is a fixed expression built from echar (to throw) and de menos (short, lacking): you notice someone is missing. It is the default in Spain for people, places and things. Extrañar means the same in Latin America. In Spain it exists too, but its everyday meaning there is "to surprise": me extraña que no llame means I'm surprised she hasn't called.
| Spanish | English | Where and when |
|---|---|---|
| Te echo de menos | I miss you | Spain; partners, family, friends |
| Te echo mucho de menos | I miss you so much | Spain; mucho sits after echo |
| Os echo de menos | I miss you all | Spain, to a group (vosotros) |
| Te extraño | I miss you | Latin America; understood in Spain |
| Los extraño mucho | I miss you all a lot | Latin America, to a group |
| Me haces falta | I need you here, I miss you | Everywhere; tender |
| Tengo ganas de verte | I can't wait to see you | Everywhere; very common in Spain |
How do you say you miss a place or a thing?
The verb stays the same and the object changes. With a person, Spanish adds the little word a (the personal a); with places and things it does not.
Echo de menos a mi abuela.
I miss my grandmother.
Personal a before a person.
Echo de menos el mar.
I miss the sea.
Echo mucho de menos Madrid.
I really miss Madrid.
¿Me echas de menos?
Do you miss me?
Extraño mi país.
I miss my country.
Latin America.
How do you say I miss you in a letter or message?
Written Spanish loves a longer line. Ojalá estuvieras aquí (I wish you were here) and cuento los días (I'm counting the days) are common in messages and cards. In one A2 series, a granddaughter finds decades of unsent love letters in a Madrid café. The first one opens with the phrase itself (see also how to say I love you in Spanish):
Mi amor, te echo de menos cada día. Cada día sin ti es imposible.Sin ti (without you) is a classic in songs and letters. Note the form: after sin, Spanish uses ti, never tú.
What mistakes do learners make with miss?
English uses one verb for several ideas, and Spanish splits them. Translating miss with the same word every time is the usual slip.
| English | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Miss a person | echar de menos / extrañar | Te echo de menos. |
| Miss a train or bus | perder | He perdido el tren. |
| Miss a class | faltar a | Falté a clase el lunes. |
| A missed call | una llamada perdida | Tengo tres llamadas perdidas. |
| Something is missing | faltar | Falta una página. |
So te pierdo does not mean I miss you: it means I'm losing you. Word order also trips people up. In Spain the natural place for mucho is inside the expression, te echo mucho de menos, rather than at the very end.
Read A2 Spanish stories about letters, love and long absences, and tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
What does te echo de menos literally mean?
Roughly "I find you lacking": echar is to throw and de menos means short or missing. It is an idiom, so it is best learned as a whole.
How do you reply to te echo de menos?
Y yo a ti (and I you) is the most natural. Yo también te echo de menos (I miss you too) is fuller. In Latin America: yo también te extraño.
Does extrañar mean miss in Spain?
It can, and Spaniards understand te extraño. But in Spain extrañar more often means to surprise: me extraña means it surprises me, and extraño as an adjective means strange.
How do you say I miss you, my love?
Te echo de menos, mi amor in Spain, or te extraño, mi amor in Latin America. Cariño is another common pet name in Spain.
How do you say I miss home in Spanish?
Echo de menos mi casa, or echo de menos mi tierra for your home region. In Latin America, extraño mi casa.