If a recently said that he appreciates you then you might be wondering why and what it might mean about the way that he feels about you.

This post will show you a number of reasons why he might have said that he appreciates you and why other guys might do the same in the future.

So, what does it mean if a guy says he appreciates you? It could be a sign that he likes you if he only says it to you and he shows other signs of attraction around you. It could also mean that he considers you a friend, he is grateful for something or he might have been trying to make you feel better.

There are actually a number of reasons why a guy might say that he appreciates you and there are a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out the exact reason.

Why a guy will say that he appreciates you

Each of the different reasons why a guy will say that he appreciates you will likely come with a number of clues in the way that he does it and the body language he shows around you.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy will say that he appreciates you, the signs to look for and the things to consider.

He is attracted to you

The reason that he said that he appreciates you could be that he is attracted to you.

This would be more likely if he only said it to you, he shows different body language and behavior around you than he does with other people and he says other similar things only to you.

If he is attracted to you then it would be more likely that he would show signs of attraction when he is around you.

These signs could include:

  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Keeping his focus on you when multiple people are talking
  • Glancing at you a lot
  • Pointing his feet at you (people often point their feet at people that they are attracted to)
  • Adjusting his appearance when he sees you
  • Asking you the most questions when in a group with you
  • Touching you a lot
  • Talking to you with a deeper voice than he does with other people
  • Standing closer to you than he does with other people
  • Watching you and getting anxious when you are around other men
  • Getting defensive when other men are with you both
  • Having dilated pupils when looking at you (people’s pupils will often become more dilated when looking at someone that they are attracted to)

There are more signs of attraction that a guy might show around you and I have written about more of them in this blog post.

He considers you a friend

It could be the case that he said it because he was trying to show that he appreciates you as a friend.

This would be more likely if he says it to his other friends as well, if he has been your friend for a while, if you have helped him with things in the past and if he shows similar body language around you as he does with his other friends.

He is thankful for something that you did

The reason that he said that he appreciates you could be that he was showing that he was grateful for something that you did.

This would be more likely if he said it after you had helped him with something or if you were cheering him up when he was feeling sad. It would also be more likely if there is something that you often help him with such as if you often give him a ride somewhere.

He is trying to make you feel better

The reason that he said it might have been that he thought that you were feeling sad and he was trying to make you feel better.

This would be more likely if you were showing signs of being sad or if you were talking to him about something that might have made you feel sad. It would also be more likely if he said it when you were alone with him and he wasn’t showing many other signs of attraction.

He says it naturally

It could be the case that he says it a lot naturally.

This would be more likely if he also seems to say it to other people a lot and if he seems to show similar body language around other people as with you.

If he does say it a lot naturally then it could still be the case that he is attracted to you. If he is then it would be more likely that he would show signs of being attracted to you when he is around you.

Consider how he reacts to seeing you

When trying to understand why he said that he appreciates you it would help to consider the way that he reacts to seeing you.

If he reacts to seeing you by noticeably changing his body language and behavior then it would make it more likely that he has particularly good or bad feelings about you.

If he reacts to seeing you by doing things such as:

  • Adjusting his appearance
  • Adjusting his posture
  • Facing towards you (especially with his feet)
  • Moving closer to you
  • Having more dilated pupils

Then it would make it more likely that he is attracted to you.

Consider when and where he said it

The timing of when he said that he appreciates you would also be a useful thing to consider.

If he said that he appreciates you when you were around other people then it would make it more likely that he either says it naturally or he was being grateful for something.

If he said it when you were alone together then it would make it more likely that he either was showing attraction to you, trying to make you feel better or that he was showing that he is thankful for something that you do for him. It would help to consider the body language he was showing.

Consider how he interacts with other people

People can naturally show body language signs that would normally mean something. This is why it would help to compare the way that he interacts with you with how he interacts with other people.

If he shows the same body language around you as he does around other people and he also says that he appreciates them a lot then it would make it more likely that he considers you a friend or he says it naturally.

Whereas, if he shows different body language around you then it would make it more likely that he has feelings for you depending on the way that he changes his body language around you.

Look for a number of clues in his body language

When considering what his body language could have been showing it would help to consider a number of different signs at the same time.

The reason for this is that a single body language sign can have many different meanings. This can make single body language signs less reliable on their own.

Whereas, if someone shows a number of body language signs that all suggest the same thing then it would make it more likely that they are showing them for that specific reason.

If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.

Author

I created and currently manage Body Language Central, one of the premier sources for body language-related knowledge. Body language plays a key role in our daily lives. I hope that my website can help condense the wide amount of body language information available and allow you to make full use of it in your daily life. You can read more about me and my website here.