If you recently had a guy touch your ear you’re probably wondering why he did it.

This post will help you figure out why he touched your ear and help you to figure it out in real-time if it happens in the future.

So, what does it mean when a guy touches your ear? Possible causes of a guy touching your ear are that he is trying to reassure you, being dominant, teasing you or that he is mirroring your own behavior.

Since there are a number of reasons why a guy might touch your ear it is important to consider the context of how it happened and the body language signals that he was showing.

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

Why a guy would touch your ear

Each of the different reasons why a guy will touch your ear will likely come with a number of clues in his body language.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy will touch your ear and the body language signals to expect to see with them.

He’s attracted to you

One reason that a guy will touch your ear is that he is attracted to you.

If he is then it would be likely that he used something about your ear as an excuse to touch you.

If he is attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show it in a number of other ways in his body language and behavior.

Examples could be if he:

  • Has dilated pupils when looking at you
  • Points his feet at you when you’re around
  • Stares at you then looks away quickly when you look at him
  • Touches you more than other women
  • Stands close to you when talking to you
  • Shows signs of nervousness when around you
  • Holds eye contact with you for longer than normal
  • Mirrors your body language
  • Looks at your lips
  • Smiles when he first sees you
  • Adjusts his hair, shirt, tie, etc when he notices you
  • Positions himself to be near you
  • Speaks with a deeper voice than normal

He’s being dominant

When a person is trying to show that they are of a high status in a group they will, often, touch the people around them.

This could be the reason that he touched you on the ear.

In this is case, it would be likely that he did it slightly more firmly and it would be more likely if it was in front of people.

If he was being dominant then it would be likely that he would show it in his body language and behavior in a number of different ways such as:

  • Talking more deeply
  • Telling people to do things
  • Putting his hands and feet on things that aren’t his
  • Taking up lots of space
  • Standing in a way that makes his body appear larger
  • Talking over people
  • Staring at people
  • Squinting
  • Tight lips
  • Tight jaw
  • Interrupting people

It is possible that he also is attracted to you. If he is he would likely show a number of other signals of attraction in his body language.

He’s mirroring you

When a guy is trying to fit in with a certain group of people he will often mirror their body language and behavior.

The reason that he touched your ear could be that he was mirroring you.

This would be more likely if you have touched him on the ear in the past and if you hang out with the same people.

If he was mirroring you he would likely mirror you in a number of other ways such as:

  • Standing with a similar stance as you
  • Showing similar hand gestures as you
  • Talking at a similar pitch as you
  • Mirroring your facial gestures
  • Smiling the way you do
  • Walking at a similar speed and with a similar style as you

He wants to be more than just friends

If he has been your friend for a while then touching you on the ear could be a sign that he wants more than just a friendship.

If he does then he’s probably been showing numerous signals of being attracted to you in his body language and behavior that you haven’t noticed.

It would be especially likely that he would show dilated pupils, get nervous around you, get anxious when you’re with other men and that he would get defensive when other men are around.

He wants to see your reaction

It could be the case that he has a crush on you but he is unsure of whether or not you have one on him.

This could be why he touched you on the ear since he wanted to see if you would react favorably.

If that is why he did it then it would be likely that he would have seemed slightly nervous when he did it and that his body language would show that he’s attracted to you.

He’s trying to reassure you

The reason that he touched you on the ear might be that he was trying to make you feel better.

If he was then he would have done it when you were sad and when you were showing it in your body language. It would also be likely that he only would have done it at that time.

It might be the case that he is attracted to you and he used it as an excuse to touch you. If he did he would likely show numerous signs of being attracted to you such as those mentioned in the first section.

Consider your relationship with him

When trying to figure out why he touched you on the ear it would be helpful to consider what your relationship with him is like.

If you have been dating him for a while and he has been touching you more lately it would suggest that he wants to bring the relationship to a more intimate stage.

If he has been your friend for a while then it could have been a sign that he is attracted to you. It would be necessary for you to see more body language signals of attraction to clarify that though.

If you hadn’t met him before then it could be that he was showing dominant behavior, that he was attracted to you or both.

Think about when and where he did it

The timing of when he touched your ear and the location that is happened in would likely be of use to you as well.

If he touched you on the ear when you were both alone together it could be the case that he wanted to be intimate with you. Again, it would be necessary for you to consider his behavior and body language to confirm that. It could have been that he was trying to reassure you or that he was mirroring you.

If he did it in public with other people watching then it would be more likely that it was a display of dominating behavior. However, it might still be that he did it due to being attracted to you.

Think about his normal body language

When trying to understand why he touched your ear it would help to know how he interacts with other women.

If you notice that he touches other women a lot and his body language doesn’t change around you then it would suggest that he either has a dominating personality or that he is more flirtatious.

Whereas, if he doesn’t do it with other women and his body language does change around you then it would suggest that he was doing it due to one of the reasons mentioned above.

Look for multiple body language signs

When you’re trying to figure out why he touched your ear it would be helpful to think about multiple body language signals at a time.

There are usually lots of different reasons that a guy might show a single body language signal. This means that it would often be difficult to draw accurate conclusions from a single body language signal.

That’s why it’s important to look for multiple body language signals that are all pointing towards the same meaning when trying to figure out why he did it.

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.