How do you know if you love someone or if you just really like them?

There are different levels of love, and people feel things differently. If their happiness is my main concern, and I'd defend them with my life, I say I love them.

What a good question. I tend to know when I love someone. I love easily. Knowing I'm IN love with someone can be more difficult. If it's easy to walk away from someone, I wasn't in love with them. And I generally don't tell someone I love them in that way unless I absolutely do. When, after 4 months I still feel the rush of happiness at receiving a message from them, and I start building a life with them both in my head and with that person verbally, then it's love. I feel a soul connection almost every time. The first person I was in love with, however, I did not feel that soul connection for. I still talk with him, but it feels more like he was and is one of my closest friends. I guess it can take a few relationships to find the kind of love that you really want in life. You'll know when it happens. If you have to ask and question yourself often then it's probably not love.

To know if you love someone: I think you should observe how you act with them when you are around other people (you drift in and out of each other's spheres, and talk to other people but keep shooting looks across the room at each other and feel a thrill each time you do so), consider how you think and feel when you're around them (you feel excited, nervous, or your heart beats faster etc), and imagine how you'd feel if you lost them

@Alex that's so true, something to add though is that if they're the first person you think about every morning and the last person you think about every night, it's definitely love. And at that point there's no use even trying to fight it.

@Silver I recognize that me and my ex would have to fight to stay together, and that won't work. I still love her though. Sometimes things just don't work the way we want them to.

When you think about that person even when you are away from them....

@nocturnal yeah I can kinda relate, I started noticing that I would have to fight to even get along with my ex because we really weren't compatible. I tried so hard to see past it but just the feeling that it wasn't right told me we wouldn't work out

Spend a lot of time with them. If you keep wanting to spend more time with them after several years, then you might love them. If they annoy the hell out of you most of the time, then it's probably not love.

Time.

If you feel like you're meant to be with them for whatever reason, it's love. If you feel like you really have to fight for it to make it work, then you just really like them.

Like fades aways, love remains

I know when it's love, I don't let emotions run wild on me. I've always been in control, I lost control once for me that was love.