If a guy recently called you beautiful then you’re probably wondering why he said it and what he meant by it.

This post will help you understand why he might have called you beautiful and help you understand why other guys might say it in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy calls you beautiful? A guy calling you beautiful could mean that he is attracted to you especially if he only says it to you and he shows other signs of attraction around you. He might also say it to make you feel better, as a power-play, because he wants something from you or because he says it naturally.

Since there are a number of reasons why a guy might call you beautiful it is important to consider the context of how he called you beautiful and the body language that he showed.

By doing so you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the motivations that he had behind calling you beautiful.

Reasons why a guy will call you beautiful

Each of the different reasons why a guy might call you beautiful will likely come with a number of clues in his body language and behavior.

Below, I’ll mention a number of reasons why a guy will call you beautiful and the body language signals that you can expect to see with them.

He’s attracted to you

If he is around the same age as you, he only calls you beautiful and he changes his body language and behavior when you’re around him then it would be likely that he is attracted to you.

If he does call you beautiful because he is attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show signs of being attracted to you in his behavior and body language.

Examples could include:

  • Mirroring your own body language
  • Finding reasons to touch you
  • Planning his schedule around yours
  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Having more dilated pupils than normal when with you
  • Aiming his feet in your direction while he is around you
  • Standing closer to you than he does with other people when talking to you
  • Positioning himself to be near you
  • Uncrossing his legs and arms when he first notices you
  • Sitting or standing more upright when he notices you
  • Making an adjustment to his appearance when he notices you such as adjusting his shirt
  • Asking your friends about you
  • Glancing in your direction then looking away when you notice
  • Showing signs of being anxious while you are with other men your age
  • Becoming defensive while you’re with other men

He wants to be more than just friends

If he has been your friend for a while then the reason that he called you beautiful might be that he wants to have more than just a friendship with you.

If he does want to be more than just friends, when he is around you, he would likely show signs of being attracted to you and you might not have picked up on them.

If he calls you beautiful because he’s attracted to you then it would be especially likely that he would get anxious while you are with other men your age, that he would become defensive while they’re around you both and that he would base his schedule around yours.

He wants to see your reaction

If he called you beautiful once then the reason that he did it could be that he wanted to see how you would react.

He might have wanted to see how you would react because he is attracted to you and he isn’t sure whether or not you’re attracted to him. If he isn’t sure then it would be likely that he would show signs of being attracted to you in his body language and he might also seem slightly nervous around you as well.

It’s normal in his culture

In some cultures, it is normal to refer to a woman as beautiful when talking to her.

It could be the case that he is from one of these cultures and that it’s a normal way that he talks to women.

Even if he is from a culture where it is normal to call a woman beautiful when talking to her he still might say it to you for a different reason. So, it would be helpful to consider the way that he interacts with you and the body language that he shows.

He wants something from you

The reason that he calls you beautiful could be that he wants to get something from you.

If that is the reason then it would be more likely that he would only say it to you in order to make you feel like you owe him something and he would only say it when he needs something from you.

It would also be more likely that he would only talk to you when he needs something from you.

He’s being condescending

It could be the case that he called you beautiful because he was being condescending.

If he was then it would be likely that he would have said it in a sarcastic way, while disagreeing with you or after you made a suggestion that he didn’t like.

If he did call you beautiful because he was being condescending then it would be likely that he would have also shown other signs of being condescending such as:

  • Smirking at you when looking at you
  • Not taking your suggestions seriously
  • Pointing his chin up and looking down at you
  • Crossing his arms when you’re talking

He wants to make you feel better

The reason that he called you beautiful could be that he thought that you were sad at the time and he was trying to make you feel better.

If that is why he called you beautiful then it would be likely that you were showing signs of being sad such as having watery eyes, looking downwards a lot, taking deeper breaths and inhaling rapidly through the nose.

He’s doing it as a power-play

It might also be the case that he called you beautiful as more of a power-play.

If he did then it would be more likely that he called you beautiful in front of other people, with a deeper voice and when making a statement to you or when telling you to do something.

If he did call you beautiful as a power-play then it would be likely that he would have shown other signs of dominating type behavior as well.

  • These signs could include:
  • Touching people a lot
  • Standing in people’s personal space
  • Talking over people
  • Talking with a deeper voice
  • Putting his hands and feet on things that are not his
  • Telling people to do things
  • Staring at people
  • Squinting when looking at people

Consider the way that he reacts to seeing you

When trying to understand how he feels about you and the reason that he called you beautiful it would be helpful to consider the way that he reacts to seeing you.

If he changes his body language upon seeing you then it would suggest that he has some kind of feelings towards you.

If he reacts by uncrossing his arms and legs, making space for you, raising his eyebrows and smiling, holding eye contact with you, adjusting his clothing or hair and his pupils dilate then it would be much more likely that he called you beautiful because he is attracted to you.

Whereas, if he reacts to seeing you by crossing his arms, squinting at you, pointing his feet away from you and tensing his jaw then it would be more likely that he called you beautiful for a negative reason.

Consider the type of relationship that you have with him

It would also be helpful to think about the type of relationship that you have with him when trying to understand why he called you beautiful.

If he is your friend then it would be more likely that he either secretly wants to be more than just friends with you or he was trying to make you feel good.

Whereas, if he was a guy that you don’t know very well then it would be more likely that he was either attracted to you, being dominant, he naturally says it or that he wanted to see your reaction.

Observe the way that he interacts with other people

When trying to understand why he calls you beautiful it would be helpful to compare the way that he interacts with other people with the way that he interacts with you.

If he calls other women beautiful and he shows the same body language around them as he does around you then it would be more likely that he naturally calls women beautiful.

Whereas, if he seems to only call you beautiful and he changes his body language around you then he would probably be saying it due to attraction assuming he shows it in his body language around you.

Think about when and where he called you beautiful

The timing of and the location of when he called you beautiful would also be a helpful thing to think about.

If he called you beautiful while you were both alone together then it would be more likely that he said it due to being attracted to you and you should consider whether or not he was showing many signs of attraction.

Whereas, if he called you beautiful in front of other people then he might have been showing attraction but he might also have done it as a power-play and he might naturally call women beautiful when talking to them.

Look for multiple signs in his body language

When considering what his body language is telling you it would be helpful to consider multiple aspects (clusters) of his body language.

This is because he might show a single sign-in his body language for a number of different reasons making it unreliable.

Whereas, if he shows multiple body language signs that all suggest the same thing then it would be much more likely that it really is why he is showing them.

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.