When you’re kinda in love with your friend, you want to see those subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend.
If you’re lucky enough, this attraction will be mutual. However, you want to be sure about it before you actually pursue him. Imagine if you actually made a move on him and then it turned out he didn’t like you like that? Ouch.
You could ruin your friendship if things go badly. You’d rather take a moment to look for the signs than lose him as a friend.
So, does he want to make things more serious between you two? Is he interested in you romantically? What if you lose your chance right now because you’re both too scared to admit your feelings?
You’ve been imagining you two together – and if your imagination is anything to go on, you’d be an amazing couple.
You know each other. You’re always talking about your deepest fears and your biggest dreams. He knows everything about you and you know everything about him.
Wouldn’t this be the perfect union?
When you’re with someone who gets you on a deeper level, the relationship is bound to succeed. So is this going to work out or are the signs he likes you as more than a friend so subtle that they’re invisible?
17 subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend
There are actual signs you can look for if your male friend likes you as more than just a friend. If he wants to be romantically involved with you, you’ll be able to see it right away.
He’s the man you want to be with – they guy who understands you like no other.
It doesn’t matter how many boyfriends you’ve had in the past or how many girlfriends he’s had. You two always stay loyal to each other, because no one can break you apart.
So are there any signs? Even if they’re subtle, you’ll be able to figure things out quite quickly.
1. He always asks about you
You haven’t seen him in a while, but you’ve run into a mutual friend. This person makes sure to tell you that this male friend of yours has been asking about you.
He’s been asking how you’ve been or what you’ve been up to. You’ve probably talked to him recently, but he’s made sure to ask people about you, too.
The thing is that when a man likes you, he can’t get enough of you. He’ll not only text you, but also ask other people about you. He’ll ask them if they’ve seen you and if you’re in town.
Little things like these are subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend. You might think that it’s because he’s nice like that. He cares about you, yes, but he wouldn’t just ask people about you if he didn’t have feelings for you.
This can also mean that he’s asking others for more info on you. He wants to get to know you without seeming too intrusive.
2. He texts you a lot
He’s always texting you. Whenever you look at your phone, you see a message or two from him.
You know that you won’t text a man that often unless you were interested in him. Sure, you text your friends, but when someone of the opposite gender doesn’t mind talking to you constantly, then there’s something serious going on.
He sends you random memes or songs that he thinks are super good. He comments on something that happened when he was out with his friends. He’s always there to tell you a story of some kind.
Yes, friends do this, too. But they don’t do it to this extent. Especially not when you’re obviously sending them signals you’re interested.
This is really a subtle sign he likes you as more than a friend.
3. He doesn’t flirt with anyone
When your friend doesn’t flirt with anyone, it doesn’t mean that he’s taking himself off of the dating market, it just means that he already has a partner in mind. If he doesn’t flirt with anyone, it’s a subtle sign he likes you as more than a friend.
All of his attention is on you when you go clubbing. He talks to you even when you’re fully aware that many female eyes are set on your friend.
He doesn’t seem to notice them, though. He’s completely immersed in your conversation and doesn’t even bother to look at any other women around.
And when one of them does make a move, he ever-so-politely tells them that he’s not interested.
When you see this happen, just know that he’s truly interested in you.
4. He treats you differently
This could either be intentional or unintentional. He’s treating you differently than others and you can see it in everything he does.
When you need him, he’s ready to put everything on hold for you, but it doesn’t seem as if he’d do the same for anyone else.
He cancels other plans to hang out with you, he’s there to help you with something or lend you things, and you know that he’d never do this for anyone else.
This type of behavior is very obvious when you’re around other people. Someone will say how he’s treating you better than them or you’ll simply be able to notice how he’s giving you preferential treatment.
He’s definitely showing you subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend.
5. He initiates physical contact
He doesn’t do it in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable. It’s not excessive and it doesn’t make you resent him. Quite the opposite – you like it.
He does it subtly. When you’re walking past him, he helps you by holding your hand or waist. He always initiates a hug when you first meet him. He also touches you lightly when he’s talking about something or when he’s laughing.
You might even realize when he touches your hand or even tries to hold it.
A man who isn’t interested wouldn’t send you this subtle sign he likes you as more than a friend. He’d probably try to be polite and shake your hand, but if he wasn’t genuinely interested, he wouldn’t act this way.
You’ll see more of this behavior the more he falls in love with you.
6. He tries to get to know you better
Friends put an effort into knowing each other and understanding each other. They’ll ask you about your past, present, and plans for the future.
But a friend who’s developing romantic feelings for you is someone who’s more than just interested in typical friendship details.
He’ll ask you about everything you’re willing to tell him. His favorite topic? Relationships.
He’ll ask you about hypothetical situations and what you’d do if you found yourself in those. For example, he may ask you how you’d react if your boyfriend was making you jealous on purpose.
He’ll always try and learn something new about you simply to know more about you and see if you’re actually compatible with each other.
7. He gets weird when you talk about other guys
It’s awful to say, but men are very territorial, especially if they’re falling in love with a girl who doesn’t know it. They act all weird when the girl they’re interested in talks about another man.
He wants to be with you, but he’s losing you to this other man who obviously isn’t treating you right. You talk about this guy you’re texting and your friend immediately gets tense and avoids your gaze.
This is another subtle sign that he likes you as more than a friend. He’s not outright telling you that he wants to be with you, but he’s showing you with his behavior.
The thought of someone else touching you and loving you when he’s not able to is breaking him apart.
Imagine if the person you’re interested in is into someone else. Especially if you’re interested in your friend. You don’t want him to find this out so you don’t lose him, but you’re also not ready to let him turn to someone else for comfort.
So you can imagine how hard this is for him to listen to you talk about another guy.
8. He’s your most reliable friend
This man is always there for you. You can always count on him.
You might have other friends who you rely on, you talk to them quite often, and you also make sure they’re all doing fine. But he’s got a special place in your heart for you and he’s obviously doing everything he can to put you first.
Men don’t usually put this much effort into friendships with women. I’m not saying that men and women can’t be friends, just that they don’t usually put this much effort into it. That it’s mostly casual friendships.
So if this man is actually putting you first, there might be something more going on.
One of the subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend is when he’s always there for you. He keeps all of your secrets and you know that you can always ask him for advice.
Whenever you have an issue, he’s the first person you go to.
This happens when a man thinks of you romantically. He tries really hard to show you that he’s reliable and loyal. If he thought of you as just a friend, he’d be much more reserved and put his love interest above you.
It’s so obvious: This man only has eyes for you.
9. He disappears from time to time
His feelings will make him disappear from time to time.
When a man is friends with the woman he’s falling in love with, he doesn’t have much energy to be around her. Especially if he’s trying to keep his emotions hidden.
He’ll disappear on you sometimes and you’ll wonder if he’s mad. What’s actually happening is that he needs time to figure himself out. He can’t just let his emotions take over his senses, so he takes time away from you.
When he’s away, you’ll probably try to talk to him and figure out what’s going on. You’ll ask him if he’s doing alright and he’ll feel appreciated. You care about him and that’s what’ll get him to talk to you more.
But he’ll disappear again when he realizes that things aren’t going in the direction he wants it to.
10. He compliments you a lot
It’s very normal for two friends to exchange compliments. You and your girlfriends compliment each other daily. But how often does it happen with a guy friend?
You’ll see how your male friends get uncomfortable when you ask them for an opinion. Unless that’s what your friendship is based on, of course.
However, the guy you’re thinking of right now probably compliments you as a person quite often. He’s also very open about complimenting your looks.
He says when you look good, he sees when you do something special with your hair or makeup. He doesn’t think twice about saying that something looks amazing on you.
This is almost always followed with a very broad smile when you thank him.
That’s one of the subtle signs you need to look out for that he likes you as more than just a friend. Someone who only had platonic feelings for you wouldn’t act like this.
11. He’s always seeking you out
Another sign that he likes you as more than a friend is when he seeks you out, especially when he needs advice.
Everyone needs input from time to time. When we need this type of help, we usually run to our most trusted people in our lives.
He’s the type of person to come to you for advice more often than not. He also asks his male friends, but you’re always his first choice.
He’ll call you, text you, tell you that he’s not been doing so well. He’ll tell you that he doesn’t want to burden you, but he doesn’t know who else to ask.
Of course, you’ll be there for him. You’re best friends, why wouldn’t you?
He could ask someone else, you know? But he always comes back to you. It’s plain to see he’s fallen for you.
12. He knows the important things about you
Things like your birthday and your favorite color might be wildly known between your friend group, but that’s not the type of information we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about the deep little secrets that you maybe mentioned once. You don’t have to repeat things to this man and even if you do, it’s a very rare occurrence.
He makes sure to remember every little detail as well as the more important things. This man really remembers and knows everything you’ve told him.
When you’re talking about a new experience, he mentions something that happened before in your life to compare it. He truly doesn’t forget a thing you tell him.
It’s one of the more subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend. You might think that it’s cute and that he’s just that attentive, but he wouldn’t bother if he didn’t think of you as something more.
13. You catch him staring at you
This is a universal sign that a man likes you. You’ll see it in every magazine, but you might think that with friends the same rules don’t apply.
Believe me when I tell you that they do.
Do you catch him staring at you whenever you’re not aware that you zoned out? When we like someone romantically, we simply can’t get enough of them.
He’s looking at you because he can’t take his eyes off of you. It’s more than a few stolen glances here and there.
He’ll probably follow this up with a conversation. He’ll come up to you and talk to you about something and that’s when you’ll know that this man is actually trying to make a move on you.
14. You mostly hang out alone
He has yet to ask you out on an actual date. But when you think about it right now, you’re mostly alone.
Yes, you do also hang out with other friends – you hang out in groups, you go to bars together with them. But when you’re out to get a coffee or just for a walk, it’s always the two of you.
That’s probably why you’re wondering about the subtle signs he likes you as more than a friend. You want to be sure before you ask him. He’s also had many chances to ask you out on an actual date, but he always keeps it casual.
If he was just another one of your friends, you’d be going out in groups more often. But he’s so adamant about going out alone with you that it’s actually becoming very obvious at this point.
He enjoys spending time with you alone because you can talk about things you can’t really talk about in a group setting. All of your attention belongs to him, and that’s how he prefers it.
15. He subtly flirts with you
There are men who are born flirts. They can make you weak in your knees with just a few well-timed words.
He doesn’t seem like that sort of guy because you’ve never really seen him flirt with anyone and usually he gets very anxious when someone flirts with him.
But then he goes and says something to you that makes your head spin. He makes you blush and you’re wondering if you should respond to it. You don’t know if he’s being serious or if he’s just playing.
Believe me, if he was playing little games with you, he’d do it a few times, and then at the first sign of discomfort, he’d stop. He wouldn’t continue because he’s a good friend.
But what happens when that friend who’s flirting with you has actual emotions toward you? That’s when that flirting continues long into the friendship and he still makes you weak.
16. He always does something sweet for you
Let’s be honest. Men aren’t known for being nice and considerate. Even if you’ve been friends for quite a while now, he still doesn’t have a reason to do sweet things for you.
When a man likes a woman, he invariably shows subtle signs he likes her as more than a friend. His hero complex will kick in. He’ll want to hold and protect you forever!
When you have an issue, he’ll be mad if you don’t call him for assistance. It doesn’t matter if you’re moving from one apartment to another, he’ll be there to carry all of your things and you know you can count on him.
Need a plumber? He’s there! He might not know much about it, but he’ll at least be there to try to fix whatever’s broken.
17. He hints at it in conversation
Have you ever heard him say something between the lines of “If I was your boyfriend…” or “We would be such an interesting couple”?
A man who isn’t frequently thinking about things like this wouldn’t even mention it. It’s not that he’s thinking about it constantly, but he’s… Yes, he’s thinking about it constantly.
He wants to plant the idea in your mind. He’s showing very subtle signs that he likes you as more than a friend because he’s obviously considered it at one point or another.
Whenever you talk about relationship problems or men that you’re dating, he always makes a point of saying that if he was able to love you, he’d be the one to love you right.
It’s like he’s asking you to make the first move and tell him you want to turn the friendship into something more. He might even want you to tell him that you considered it as well and that it’s actually a good idea.
It’s his subtly way of saying that he’d want you to try.
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