''Te quiero' is a lighter way to say 'Te amo' (some could say) . For example, if you are seeing someone and you are at the beginning of your relationship with this person you can start saying "te quiero" until you feel something bigger than that, then you are ready to say "te amo" ...supposedly it's because "te amo" is a greater feeling than just "querer" ... well, I am not a fan of measuring love, but this is how those expressions work. ^^

hi, your question is quite pertinent transculturally speaking. "te quiero" means exactly "i want you" with all connotations you may infer from it. It is interesting than in spanish this formula has gained a main position when speaking about feelings for persons of the other sex - and also for relatives and kids of one's own. Implicitly, te "quiero" implies "i want to possess you" (not exclusively on a sexual level), and it tells you a bit of the background of generic relations in the hispanic world,. It is the usual expression. "te amo" i hardly have heard it through my life (in public settings). Implications are different for the one who says it: if a man says "te amo" it means that he will be highly commited to that woman for the time to come, or that he reached to this feeling after having grown special feelings for her. If a woman says, the meaning is that she totally surrenders to him. So, unless they become really "crazy" for each other, they wont say it! In between stands "me gustas" or "me gustas mucho", usually used when the relation is developping and still not too strong. But variation because of temperament or personality exists. The use of "to love"/amar are quite different in english and spanish. So, if you are going out with a spanish/latino/hispanic, etc dont say "te amo" unless you are totally convinced he is your man, long life man.

mmm, i think... te kiero... is a fraternal feeling... and i love u is bigger..... is passional and deep!

The mexican singer José José could gve you an answer in his song "Amar y querer" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzJ3QjBsqM0 Lyrics and translation http://lyricstranslate.com/en/Querer-y-amar-Querer-y-amar.html

well ,te quiero you can say to everyone ,a relative or a friend or husband but is more usual to show friendly , te amo is use for lovers or you say te amo when you fall in love to someone but in some cases you say te amo for family its not bad but is rare in spanish ,i hope you could understand me