amar

To love, in a deeper, often more literary or intense register than the everyday querer — amar a alguien profundamente. In daily speech, querer is far more common for romantic and family love; amar leans formal, poetic, or emotionally emphatic (song lyrics, vows, literature).

• Te amo más que a nada en este mundo. — I love you more than anything in this world.
• Prometieron amarse hasta que la muerte los separara. — They promised to love each other until death parted them.
• Amaba su tierra natal por encima de todo. — He loved his native land above everything else.

Using amar as the automatic default for 'I love you' in casual speech — te quiero is what most Spanish speakers actually say day to day; te amo is reserved for more solemn, romantic, or intense moments, and overusing it can sound theatrical.

Often confused with querer.

• song "Amar y Vivir" — A classic bolero written by Mexican composer Consuelo Velázquez (also known for "Bésame Mucho"), widely recorded across the Spanish-speaking world, including by Diego El Cigala.