If you noticed that a guy you like looked down at the ground when you walked past him you’re probably wondering why he did it.

This post will help you figure out why he looked down after you walked past him and help you to make sense of it if it happens again in the future.

So, why would a guy look down when you pass him? A guy looking down when you walk past him could mean that he is attracted to you, he’s nervous, being submissive, he might not want to seem aggressive or he might not want you to know he likes you.

Since there are a number of reasons why a guy will look down at the ground after walking past you it is important to consider the context that it happened in and the other body language signals that he showed when he did it.

Reasons why a guy will look down after you pass him

Each of the different reasons why a guy will look down at the ground after you pass him will likely come with a number of clues in his body language.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why a guy will look down at the ground after you pass him and the body language signs to look for.

He was attracted to you

One reason that a guy will look down at the ground after you pass him would be that he was attracted to you.

This would be especially likely to be the reason if he smiled, held eye contact, adjusted his hair or clothing and stood more upright as he was walking past you.

If you see him regularly then it would be likely that he would show other signs of attraction when he sees you then as well.

These signs can include:

  • Pointing his feet in your direction
  • Sitting or standing more upright when he notices you
  • Having more dilated pupils than usual when looking at you
  • Staring at you then smiling or quickly looking away when you notice
  • Mirroring your body language
  • Positioning himself to be near you
  • Showing signs of nervousness (mentioned below)
  • Holding prolonged eye contact
  • Looking to see if you’re laughing when he is

He was nervous

The reason that he looked down at the ground after he walked past you could be that he was nervous and he didn’t know where to look.

If he was nervous then it could actually also be a sign that he was attracted to you since it suggests that he wanted to make a good impression on you. If he was nervous because of being attracted to you then it would be likely that he would show signs of nervousness around you as well as signs of attraction.

Alternatively, it could be the case that he has some social anxiety in which case it would be likely that he would act in a similar way when he is passing other people as well. It would also be more likely that he would have avoided eye contact with you and that he would have walked in a way that showed smaller movements (ie he wouldn’t have swung the arms a lot).

In either case, there are some other signs of nervousness that he may have shown such as:

  • Rubbing the arms, face, legs or neck
  • Touching the neck
  • Scratching the neck
  • Fidgeting
  • Coughing
  • Slouching (less likely if he was attracted to you)

He was being submissive

It could be the case that he looked down at the ground because he was being submissive.

It could be because he felt like you appeared as being aggressive or you might have shown body language signals of aggression such as squinting, hiding vulnerable areas, tensing the jaw, staring or clenching the fists.

If he was being submissive then it would be likely that he would do other things such as:

  • Avoiding eye contact
  • Avoiding large movements
  • Distancing himself from you
  • Making his body appear smaller
  • Laughing at the mouth
  • Slouching
  • Showing vulnerable areas such as the palms or neck

He didn’t want to come across as aggressive

Since holding prolonged eye contact with people can come across as being aggressive he might have looked down because he didn’t want to seem aggressive to you.

If that is the case then it would be likely that he would have shown similar body language signals as if he was being submissive but to a lesser extent.

He didn’t want you to know that he’s attracted to you

It might also have been the case that he did find you to be attractive but he was trying to hide that he was attracted to you.

If that is the case then it would be likely that he would have shown other signs of attraction and that he would have shown some signs of nervousness when passing you.

Consider your relationship with him

When trying to figure out why he looked down it would be helpful to think about the type of relationship that you have with him.

If it was a guy that you hadn’t met before then it would be more difficult to figure out why he did it. In this case, you would have to consider the body language signals that he was showing when he walked past you to figure out whether or not he was attracted to you.

If you don’t know him very well but you do see him often then it would be helpful to consider how his body language and behavior changes when he first notices you. If he does things such as sit more upright, point his feet at you, glance at you, position himself to be near you and mirror your body language it would be likely that he is attracted to you.

Consider how he acts when he sees you

As mentioned above the way that he changes or doesn’t change his body language when he first notices you will often give you a lot of clues as to how he feels about you.

If he changes his body language in a positive way when he notices you then it would be more likely that he is attracted to you.

If he changes it in a negative way then it would be more likely that he either has some social anxiety or that he feels threatened by you in some way.

Look for multiple signals with the same meaning

When trying to figure out what a guy’s feelings are like towards you when just looking at his body language it is important to look for multiple body language signals that all suggest the same meaning.

The reason for that is that a guy could show a single body language signal for many different reasons. Whereas, there will normally be only a few related reasons that he will show multiple body language signals that can mean the same thing.

I have talked about what body language signals to look for when trying to figure out whether or not is attracted to you here.

Consider whether or not he was with people

If he looked down when he walked past you and he was with other people then it could be a clue as to why he did it.

If he was with other people and he looked down then the reason that he did it might be that he has a girlfriend and he didn’t want to be seen checking another girl out.

Alternatively, it might be the case that he didn’t want to be made fun of by his friends.

With that being said, he still might have done it for any of the other reasons mentioned above so you should consider the other body language signals that he showed when walking past you to figure out the exact 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.