When you know for certain that a guy likes you, the next step is determining whether he likes you as a friend or a potential girlfriend. As every guy has distinct personality and handles this situation differently, it’s not always easy to tell. But in most cases, there are a few clear-cut signs either way. Here’s how to tell what kind of feelings he really has for you.
- Friend: He only ever wants to hang out in a group setting. When a guy or girl only likes you as a friend, they might not want to spend any time alone with you. Instead, you’ll usually find that whenever you hang out with them, it’s in a group setting. Sometimes friends can hang out on their own and it’s not romantic, so him asking to see you alone isn’t a definite sign that he likes you as a potential girlfriend either. But if he never organizes to see you outside of your wider friendship group, you can be pretty sure that he only sees you as a friend.
- Potential Girlfriend: He always looks at you and makes prolonged eye contact. Research shows that eye contact, especially when it lingers for a while, is one of the signs of romantic interest. Do you always catch him staring at you? That could be a sign that he likes you as a potential girlfriend. Whether he stares at you when he thinks you’re not looking, or looks deeply into your eyes when you talk, both could be signs of deeper feelings.
- Friend: He shows interest in other women in front of you. Generally, if a guy only likes you as a friend, he won’t have a problem letting his romantic life play out in front of you. He might flirt with other women or talk about them freely because that’s what you do around friends. Keep in mind that if he seems to specifically brag about his dating life in front of you, it could also be because he does like you and is trying to make you jealous. But if he seems carefree about it, genuinely talking about his dating life in front of his friends, then he probably doesn’t like you in any other way.
- Potential Girlfriend: He treats you differently from his other friends. You’ll know that his feelings run deeper if he treats you differently from his other friends. Does he become more excited when you’re in the room? Does he get nervous around you, or go to special effort to impress you? Just ask yourself if he treats you like a friend or not. Actions can be very telling!
- Friend: He doesn’t mind when you date other people. Most of the time, a guy who likes you likes you will care about your dating life. He might not specifically say that he cares, but he’ll usually show signs of jealousy. Or hurt, depending on what your relationship with him is like. If he couldn’t care less and seems happy for you, like a regular friend would be, it could indicate that he is just a friend.
- Potential Girlfriend: He texts you just to talk. When someone likes you romantically, they’ll often want to be around you as much as possible. When they can’t be around you physically, they’ll want to talk to you. So if he’s texting you just to talk, or making time to see you just because, it could mean that his feelings are deeper. On the other hand, a guy who’s just a friend will usually text you to say something specific.
- Friend: He never flirts with you or makes any romantic suggestions. Flirting can take a lot of courage. But eventually, if a guy is interested in you romantically, he’ll start showing at least some subtle signs. If you’ve known him for a long time and he never makes any romantic suggestions, even in a joking way, it might mean that he just doesn’t think about you romantically.
- Potential Girlfriend: He anxiously compliments you. Complimenting someone you like can also take a lot of courage. So if a guy shows signs of anxiety when he is saying something nice to you, it could be that you have that effect on him. It’s likely that he does like you and feels nervous about this kind of interaction with you.
