Wondering how to tell if a guy likes you but is hiding it? Below, you’ll find a list of 30 important signs that a guy secretly likes you.
In my role as a life coach, I am often helping people understand the subtle nuances of human behavior. That’s why I’m excited to share this guide with you.
So, let’s dive in.
How Do You Know If A Guy Likes You Secretly?
It is extremely common for a guy to not act upon a crush.
A lot of women may not understand this if they’re constantly getting hit up by players.
But the truth is: a lot of good men aren’t making a move on you, either because they’re too shy or too worried about being rejected.
As a woman, it’s easy for you to say you don’t want men who don’t have the courage to approach you.
But, if you’re tired of always being approached by players and bad boys, you might want to consider learning how to spot the clearest signs that a good man secretly likes you.
From there, you can perhaps give a few extra hints that you’re into him, so he gains the confidence to make the first move on you. Better yet, you could make the first move yourself.
Most men will love it if you do that. In many cases, it could be your best chance of landing a good guy all for yourself.
How Do You Tell If A Man Has Feelings For You?
With that previous point in mind, let’s begin by looking at some of the important signs a man likes you secretly.
1. His Body Language Will All Have All The Clues You’ll Ever Need
One of the signs he likes you is body language. If a guy tries to hide that he likes you, it’s likely he’ll have the discipline to control his words. However, there will often be subtleties in his body language that give away his true intentions.
Some guy might be overly attentive. They’ll be more smiley, they’ll point their body towards you, they’ll stand closer and generally be more excited to hear from you. Others will appear incredibly shy. They’ll nervously fidget and avoid eye contact.
A great way to tell if he’s romantically interested in you is to compare how his body language differs around you compared to other guys.
If he acts differently around you compared to people he considers good friends or strangers, there’s a great chance he feels differently about you.
2. He Shows Off Around You
This is an obvious sign he likes you, but is hiding it. Again, you’ll need to compare how he is around you compared to others.
If he’s being louder, more gregarious and engaging in more attention-seeking behavior around you, there’s a great chance it’s because he wants to impress you.
3. Rapport-Seeking Behavior
Rapport-seeking behavior includes smiling, mirroring someone’s mannerisms, repeating what they say, laughing at their jokes or talking with an upwards tonality.
Men and women will engage in this just because they want to act nicely to someone. But when we have a crush, we tend to overdo it. If he’s engaging in more of this rapport-seeking behavior around you compared to his buddies, that’s a surefire sign that he’s developing a crush.
This is a type of behavior that most men can’t help but fall into, even if they would like to hide their real feelings. When a guy likes you and thinks he’s found the right person for him, he’ll show obvious signs of his affection.
You tell if a guy is into you and know if a guy likes you by simply looking at the little things and trying these easy ways of seeing through him. He’ll give you full attention. He will try never to do any bad thing. He makes eye contact. He proves he’s high value men. When you’re having a hard time, he’s there for you.
Related: Psychological Signs Someone Likes You
How Do You Tell If A Guy Likes You But Doesn’t Want To Admit It?
Here are some more behaviors he’ll notice when he wants to impress you, but is hiding his true feelings.
4. He Wants To Look His Best Around You
One of the signs he likes you but doesn’t want to admit he likes you is his physical appearance. Does he put more effort into his appearance when he knows he’s going to see you? This is a more obvious sign he’s attracted to you, he might like you, or wants to get close, so pay attention to how he presents himself. He probably doesn’t do that with other people.
5. He Ditches His Guy Friend To Be Around You
It’s rare that a guy might do this for a woman he’s just friends with. So, if this happens, you can take this as a reliable sign that he has feelings for you, even if he’s not making any ‘moves’ yet.
A lot of guys will first aim to spend their free time with their crush, then wait for the right moment to make a move.
The problem is: for shy guys, this exact moment can take months or years to appear.
So, if you have a crush on this guy too, it’s in your best interest to help create this moment and drop hints that you’re attracted to him too.
6. He Does You Favors
It’s possible that he’s doing favors just because he’s a nice guy.
However, in most cases, he agrees to this because he’s attracted to you. He sees it as an opportunity to get in your good books or to spend more time with you.
Want to tell the difference between a ‘nice guy’, a guy who’s genuinely interested and a guy who likes you?
Once again, the secret is to compare how he treats his other pals. If he’s doing more for you than he does for them, that’s a clear sign of attraction towards you and that he is a guy who likes you.
Signs He Secretly Likes You More Than A Friend
When a guy is nervous to reveal his attraction towards you, he’ll often opt for the ‘friendship first’ approach.
Essentially, this means he’ll aim to become close friends in the hope that you develop feelings for him – and maybe even make the first move.
Regardless of how dishonest or cowardly you think this is, it happens a lot. Of course, there are also guys who just want your friendship.
So, how can you tell the difference between a best friend and a crush in disguise? Here are some clear signs a guy secretly likes you as more than a friend.
7. He Spends A Lot Of Time With You
It is possible that a man has a female best friend who he spends more time with than anyone else, but it is rare.
If he is spending more time with you than any of his other buddies, you have reason to expect he wants you to be more than just a friend.
The bottom line is that if he likes you romantically, he’ll find ways to be with you as much as possible, and he’ll lean toward you any way he can.
8. He’s Too Touchy-Feely
There’s a level of physical contact you expect from platonic friendships. If you notice he’s regularly exceeding that expected level, it’s usually because he’s trying to gauge how romantically interested you are in him.
Pay attention to how much he touches you in comparison with other girls. This will give you a good idea of how interested he is in being more than friends.
9. He Compliments You
Pay attention to how he compliments you. If he’s a single guy who says you’re beautiful, cool and fun to hang out with, there’s no reason for him to not be dating you. The only possible reason is that he’s afraid to make a move.
10. He Wants To Spend Time Alone With You
If he just wants your friendship, a guy is unlikely to mind hanging out with you in a big group of people. Hey, there might even be an opportunity to hit it off with one of your pals.
But if he’s always pushing to hang out one-on-one, that suggests he wants something more than friendship.
More likely, he’s trying to create the perfect moment to make his move.
11. He’s Inviting You To ‘Date Locations’
He’s inviting you to dinners at fancy restaurants or for picnics on the beach? This is another sign he might like you more than he’s leading on.
12. He’s Paying For You
In this modern era of dating life, it’s a huge debate whether a man should pay for a woman on the first date.
However, it’s still fair to suggest that a man paying for your stuff is a sign of romantic interest. Men are less likely to buy things for women they’re not interested in dating.
13. You Never See Him Dating Or Even Flirting With Other Women
If he’s going on dates and regularly flirting with other girls, it could make more sense that he just wants friendship with you.
If he never appears to be dating anyone, it would make more sense that he only wants to date you but he’s hiding his feelings. If you want to get close to him, ask him loud and clear if he’s seeing other girls.
14. He Goes Above And Beyond
If he’s doing more for you than you’d expect from a typical companion – and more than he does for other women – there’s every chance he’s interested in something more than friendship.
When a man goes above and beyond in this way, it’s usually to impress a woman and show off his potential as a boyfriend. He has a good memory of everything you talked about and is ready to do close search about you.
When someone likes you, his goal is to make you feel comfortable and want to get to know you. That’s why he asks questions more than someone else would (for instance, about your favorite color, favorite places, what’s the hardest thing you ever had to do, etc.) He wants to know you and hopes to be with you one day. He will show the different side of him only to you. He will always try to do the right thing. That’s why he will find a way to get to know you and get jealous at other people. If something doesn’t work out, he will find another way. That’s a sign he likes you.
Signs He Likes You, But Is Afraid Of Rejection
Women aren’t generally attracted to scaredy-cats, but it’s not easy to put your heart on the line and risk rejection from your crush.
There are plenty of great men out there who are too nervous to make the first move on you. If you can give them just a little encouragement, you can be the woman they end up with and spend time with.
There’s no need to risk your own embarrassment by flirting with guys who don’t like you either.
Simply look for these signs that a boy likes you, but is held back by fear of rejection. Focus on the little things to see if a man likes you.
15. He Regularly Stares At You, But Doesn’t Come Over To Talk
Here’s another way to check if a guy likes you. Let’s say this guy is talking with a group of buddies, but you spot him staring at you multiple times.
In most cases, he’s either doing this subconsciously because he’s attracted to you or he’s consciously battling his fear and considering the best time to walk over and find excuses to talk to you. Maybe he’s waiting for eye contact before he comes over. A lot of mainstream men’s publications tell guys to do that…
It’s either that or you’re doing something out of the ordinary to involuntarily catch his attention.
So, when you spot this, why not go over and talk to him? Maybe have a flirty banter. If that sounds complicated or scary, you can start with something innocuous and hope he’ll talk to you or start flirting with you. Even if there’s an awkward silence, don’t stress about it. Or, if you’re brave enough, you can tell him exactly what you want. Either way, he’ll probably be pleased you came over.
16. He’s Texting You A Lot, But Not Coming Over To Talk
This is a common scenario in school or college situations.
A lot of shy people act confident over text, but don’t have the guts to say hi to their crush in real-life. If this happens in your school, college or workplace, it’s almost definitely because the guy has a crush on you. Why else would be shy to say hello to his texting buddy? But if you feel like he has feelings for you, you’re probably right.
17. He Dances Near You
This is incredibly common in bars and nightclubs. Rather than talking to a woman they like on the dancefloor, a shy guy will dance near her and hope she happens to notice him.
Men think they’re trying to not show their feelings when they do this, but it’s so obvious for anyone watching. It doesn’t take a relationship expert to know that he wants to talk to you and wants a more serious relationship status. Still, if you’re attracted to him, there’s nothing wrong with talking to him in this situation.
18. He Tries To Know Your Relationship Status
If he’s shy, he’ll probably try to find your relationship status in a subtle way so his intentions aren’t too obvious. He’ll try to find the right place and the right time to talk to you about it and ask you many questions because he doesn’t want you to think he’s pushy or anything like that.
19. He Tries Flirting In A Non-Serious Way
This is another strategy among nervous guys. He’ll either throw in a few jokes about you two being together or he’ll find subtle ways to flirt with you. When he makes jokes like this, it’s usually a defence mechanism to protect his ego from rejection.
Often, this is so subtle that women can’t tell that this funny guy is actually interested in them.
Signs He Likes You But Is Playing It Cool
It’s a tragedy of modern romance that most other people feel the need to ‘play it cool’ during the early stages of a courtship. Wouldn’t it be easier if we were all honest from the start?
However you feel about that sentiment, the reality is that most men will try to play it cool even if they are quickly falling head over heels in love with you.
With that in mind, here are some common signs he likes you but is playing it cool.
20. He Teases You
Teasing is a subtle form of flirting. If he’s regularly teasing you, that’s a sign he’s comfortable in your presence. In most cases when a guy does this, it’s because he likes you.
You might even also notice obvious jealousy on his behalf. That’s a sign your guy friend likes you. You might not be regular friends after all.
21. He Doesn’t Initiate, But Accepts All Your Invitiations
He’s playing so cool that he waits for you to invite him out. It happens. If you feel good initiating your meet-ups, this isn’t the worst thing in the world. The most important thing is that he turns up and you have a good time together.
If that’s happening, enjoy it for now. You can talk him out of trying to hide his feelings once he gets more comfortable around you.
22. Mixed Signals
If a guy is giving you hot and cold signals at the same time, it’s not usually that he’s unsure about you. More likely, he’s just sending these mixed signals to make you want him more.
Guys aren’t as up and down as women when it comes to romantic feelings. Once they have a crush, they tend to keep feeling the same way, unless something huge happens to alter their feelings or they decide to focus on other women.
There’s no many reasons for them to completely ignore you after regularly talking to you so that’s a good thing.
23. He Remembers Details About You
It’s not always the grand gestures that signify a man’s feelings. Unless he’s a hopeless romantic, these gestures may never arrive.
That’s OK. There are often more subtle things guys do to show they’re interested in you, such as remembering the little details and the tiniest details you tell them about your life. This shows he really pays full attention to your conversation and inline feedbacks. These can often give you a more clear indication of his intentions.
24. You’ll See It In His Eye Contact
Even if a guy is really good at hiding his feelings, the truth will often be revealed by his eyes. Practice deep eye contact and you’ll get a better sense of his real feelings.
A man’s eyes will often dilate when he’s around a crush too. This is impossible to hide, so make an effort to try and notice that.
25. He Treats You Like A Girlfriend
Ultimately, his actions will speak louder than his words. He can treat you like he’s your boyfriend even though he still isn’t. If he’s always talking with you, inviting you out and treating you like an important person in his life, there’s a good chance he’s interested in a romantic relationship status.
Key Signs He Likes You But Is Hiding It: Text
Texting would appear to be an essential part of a modern romance. It’s easier to hide your feelings in a text conversation compared to in-person interactions. However, there are still signs he likes you that can be spotted in this situation.
26. He Texts You Often
If he’s texting you every day, that’s a great sign he’s interested in meeting for a date. He wants to know you and make you feel important and appreciated by keeping in touch. A guy who likes you will go above and beyond to reply to your texts as soon as possible. He will ask questions and be eager to learn about you, even if it’s through text messages. One thing can lead to another, and you’ll quickly be on a date spending extra time together.
27. He’ll Start A Conversation About Anything And Nothing
If he’s having a lot of smalltalk over text, that’s another good sign that a guy wants to date you.
He could be having these monotonous chats with anyone, but he chooses you and not someone else.
Indeed, most shy guys don’t feel ready so they wait too long to actually pull the trigger and ask a girl out over text.
If you’re feeling impatient, the first step and your choices are to invite him somewhere (if you feel safe with him), or wait and hope he eventually gets to the point.
28. You’ll Find Clues In His Emoji Use
Look beyond the words of your text conversation and search for clues within his emojis. The eyes, the smirk and the *ahem* eggplant emoji are known to be the flirtiest.
29. He Sends Photos Of Himself
Guys might send funny photos of themselves to buddies. But, even if he’s trying to send serious or sexy photos of himself, he’s trying to impress you. At that point, it should be clear he’s interested in a date.
30. He Engages With Your Social Media
If a guy is trying to hide his feelings, he may be more subtle about his social media engagement with you.
Perhaps he’ll deliberately withhold from leaving ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ because it’ll make it too clear he’s interested in you.
However, you can get a good gauge of his interest by how often he view all comments and your ‘Stories’. On Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, you’ll be able to see who views your stories the most. It’s impossible for him to hide this.
Psychological Subtle Signs He Likes You
If you’re interested in reading more about how to notice when someone likes you but is hiding it, check out these guides I, as the author, posted.
- Subtle Signs He Likes You MORE Than A Friend
- Clear Signs Your Male Friend Has Feelings For You
- Signs A Male Coworker Likes You
- CLEAR Signs He Likes You But Is Afraid Of Rejection
- CLEAR Signs Your Guy Friend Is Falling For You
- 50+ Signs – How To Know If A Girl Likes You But Is Hiding It
- 65 Signs He Wants You Badly Sexually & How To React
- How To Tell He Loves You By His Kiss – 31 CLEAR Signs
Any More Personal Questions About How To Tell If A Man Likes You But Is Hiding It?
Thanks for reading my guide about how to tell when a guy is hiding his romantic feelings. Hopefully, this makes sense, and you’ll find it easier to notice when your crush likes you or to figure out exactly what other guys are thinking in the future.
If you have a question on this topic or would like to add some other signs, the good news is: you can do so in the comments. Feel free to include examples from your love life if you want or share more comments load.
It would be great to continue the conversation on this interesting subject.
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