How to say "to love something/doing something" in Spanish

In Spanish, to express that you "love (something)" or you "love doing (something)" we use verb encantar.

Encantar works in exactly the same way gustar does.

To love something in Spanish

Have a look at these examples:

Me encanta el chocolate.I love chocolate.

Me encantan las fresas.I love strawberries.

Notice how the order is different in English and Spanish.

In English:

Subject (I) + verb (love) + what is loved (chocolate/strawberries)

In Spanish:

Pronombre de complemento indirecto (Me) + verb (encanta/n) + subject (el chocolate/las fresas)

To love doing something in Spanish

If you want to express "you love doing something" you only use "encanta" and not encantan:

Me encanta nadar en el mar.I love swimming in the sea.

Me encanta tomar el sol.I love sunbathing.

Notice how what you like is expressed with an infinitive (-ar,-er,-ir form), not a gerund like in English (-ing form).

To express more intensity about how much you like something you can use alternative verbs. For example:

Apasionar (to be passionate about)

Me apasiona la música clásica.I am passionate about classic music.

Me apasionan las novelas de Agatha Christie.I am passionate about Agatha Christie's novels.

Fascinar (to be fascinated by)

Me fascina hacer alpinismo.I am fascinated by mountaineering.

Me fascinan las actrices de Hollywood.I am fascinated by Hollywood actresses.

Apasionar and fascinar work exactly the same way verb gustar works. They can be used in any tense and will always be conjugated in the 3rd person singular or plural. 

They are accompanied by indirect object pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les) which tells us "who" is doing the liking, loving, being passionate or fascinated. Here are other examples using different pronouns:

Entonces, ¿te apasionan los animales?So, you are passionate about animals?

Alberto es un chico interesante. Le fascina la moda italiana.Alberto is an interesting guy. He is fascinated by Italian fashion.

Nos apasionan los coches de carrera.We are passionate about racing cars.

Les fascina hacer buceo.They are fascinated by scuba diving.

See also these lessons about "gustar":

Here is a list of "inverted" verbs:

 

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Examples and resources

Nos apasionan los coches de carrera.We are passionate about racing cars.
Les fascina hacer buceo.They are fascinated by scuba diving.
Me fascinan las actrices de Hollywood.I am fascinated by Hollywood actresses.
Me encanta el chocolate.I love chocolate.
Me encantan las fresas.I love strawberries.
Me encanta nadar en el mar.I love swimming in the sea.
Me encanta tomar el sol.I love sunbathing.
Me apasiona la música clásica.I am passionate about classic music.
Me apasionan las novelas de Agatha Christie.I am passionate about Agatha Christie's novels.
Me fascina hacer alpinismo.I am fascinated by mountaineering.
Entonces, ¿te apasionan los animales?So, you are passionate about animals?
Alberto es un chico interesante. Le fascina la moda italiana.Alberto is an interesting guy. He is fascinated by Italian fashion.
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