If a guy smiles a lot around you, this post will show you likely reasons why and what would make them more likely.

So, what does it mean when a guy smiles a lot around you? A guy smiling around you a lot could mean that he is attracted to you especially if he only smiles a lot with you and if he shows other signs of attraction around you. It might also mean that he is nervous, being submissive, thinks you’re funny or he might just smile a lot naturally.

There are actually a number of possible reasons why a guy would smile a lot around you but there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main reason.

What does it mean when a guy smiles a lot around you?

Below are likely reasons why a guy will smile a lot around you and what would make each of them more likely.

He’s attracted to you

If a guy smiles a lot around you, he doesn’t seem to do it much with other women and he tends to change his body language when he notices you then there would be a good chance that he does it due to being attracted to you.

If he does smile a lot around you because he’s attracted to you, it would be likely that he would show other signs of attraction in his body language.

These signs can include:

  • Sitting or standing more upright when he notices you
  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Finding excuses to touch you
  • Staring at you then smiling or quickly looking away when you notice
  • Standing close to you when talking to you
  • Positioning himself to be near you
  • Having more dilated pupils than normal when with you
  • Getting anxious when you’re talking to other men
  • Looking at your lips when talking to you
  • Making plans based on yours
  • Mirroring your body language
  • Holding prolonged eye contact with you
  • Always aiming his feet at you when you’re in the same area

He’s nervous

Smiling can also be a sign of being nervous and it might be why he has been smiling a lot around you.

The reason why he gets nervous around you could be that he is attracted to you in which case he would likely show signs of attraction as mentioned above.

Alternatively, he might get nervous around you because he feels like you might judge what he has to say. In this case, in addition to showing some of the signs of nervousness mentioned below, he would likely show distancing behaviors around you.

Alternatively, he might have some social anxiety in which case he would likely behave the same way around other people as well.

If he does get nervous around you then it would be likely that he would do things such as:

  • Rub the eyes, legs, neck, arms or face when around you
  • Blink more frequently
  • Fidget
  • Tap the fingers and feet a lot
  • Talk at a higher pitch
  • Talk with an upwards inflection
  • Not maintain strong eye contact
  • Self-hug

He’s being submissive

Smiling can also be a sign of someone being submissive and it could be why he smiles a lot around you.

In this case, he would probably only be smiling a lot at the mouth without creasing besides the eyes when smiling.

If he is submissive around you, it might be because you come across as threatening, that he feels like you have some authority over him or that you hang out with people that he feels threatened by.

If he is being submissive, it would be likely that he would do things such as:

  • Laugh at the mouth
  • Avoid eye contact
  • Avoid large movements
  • Show the palms and neck
  • Have wide looking eyes
  • Talk at a higher pitch
  • Point the feet away from you
  • Make the body appear small
  • Glance towards the exit

He smiles a lot naturally

It might also be the case that he smiles a lot naturally.

If that is the case, it would be likely that he would do it around other people as well.

It would also be likely that he would show the same body language when he is around you as he does around other people. That is unless he is also attracted to you in which case he would show that he’s attracted to you in his body language.

He’s mirroring you

One reason that he smiles a lot around you could be that he is subconsciously mirroring your behavior.

This would be more likely to be the reason if he hangs out with the same people as you and you tend to smile a lot yourself.

Alternatively, he might do it because he is attracted to you. If that is why he’s mirroring you, it would be likely that he would show other signs of attraction in his body language.

If he is mirroring you, it would be likely that he would mirror you in other ways as well.

Examples could include:

  • Showing the same facial gestures as you
  • Smiling in a similar way to you
  • Mirroring your hand gestures
  • Standing with a similar stance as you
  • Talking at a similar pitch as you

He thinks you’re funny

It could also be the case that he thinks that you are funny.

If that is the case, it would be likely that you would make jokes a lot and that you would smile a lot around him.

In this case, it would be likely that he would show positive body language signals around you. It might also be the case that he would show some signs of attraction but he would be less likely to get anxious when you’re with other men, get defensive when other men are around, hold prolonged eye contact or look at your lips when talking to you.

Consider the way that he smiles

To help figure out why he does it, it would help to consider the way that he smiles.

If he only seems to smile at the mouth and he doesn’t seem to crease at the eyes very much, it would make it more likely that he smiles around you due to submission and/or nervousness.

Whereas, if he does give genuine smiles, it would be more likely that he does it due to being happy around you or finding you attractive.

Consider the location that he smiles in

If you notice that he doesn’t always smile around you and that he only seems to do it in certain locations, it could be the case that there is someone else causing him to do it.

It could be that he does it because he feels threatened by certain people or because he finds a certain person to be particularly funny. It would be necessary for you to consider the body language that he shows and the timing of when he does it to figure out the exact reason.

Consider how he interacts with other people

It would also help to consider how he interacts with other people.

If you notice that he tends to smile a lot around other people and he doesn’t change his body language when he notices you, it would be more likely that he does it due to naturally smiling a lot.

Whereas, if he doesn’t smile around other people a lot and he changes his body language when he notices you then it would be a lot more likely that he is doing it due to one of the other reasons mentioned above. To figure out the exact reason you should consider how his body language changes around you.

Think about your relationship with him

When trying to figure out why he smiles a lot around you it would be helpful to consider what your relationship with him is like.

If you have been friends with him for a while then it would be more likely that he does it naturally or that he finds you funny. It could still be that he finds you to be attractive so you should consider the body language signals that he shows around you.

If he has only known you for a short time period then it would be more likely that he does it due to being attracted to you and it causes him to get anxious around you.

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.