Me gustas but not sexual

[BobRitter]

Me gusta + verb = Me gusta cantar. I like to sing. Really singing is pleasing.....

How do I say "I like Mary." She is pleasant, friendly and I like her.
Many posts on the web say "Me gusta Mary" has a sexual connotation. I sure don't want to make that mistake talking to a casual friend. Seems like it
could be embarrassing.

Te amo = I love to wife, husband, boyfriend etc. Sexual
Te quiero = I love you my mother, father, sister etc. Non sexual

Me gusta cantar. Me gustan tortas. OK

But I like Mary. ??????

Thanks. Bob

[Rusty]

Me gusta + infinitive = I like _____ing (literally, _____ing is pleasing to me)
Me gusta cantar. = I like singing. (to sing)

Me gusta + noun (with article that matches the noun's gender and number) = I like _____.
Me gustan las tortas. = I like cakes.

Me gusta + proper noun = I like _____. (but can be misunderstood to be more than casual)

Better proposals, if you don't want to be misunderstood:
María me cae bien. = I like Mary (as a friend)
María me agrada. = I like Mary (as a friend)

In your thread title, 'me gustas' means 'I like you' (and can mean more than 'me agradas' or 'me caes bien').

[chileno]

I am not sure where all that comes from...but, Me gustas....

Would you say that if i say, Mary, I think you are pretty, be something sexual.

It could of course, given the tone of your voice, context etc...

I guess it is like in Spanish.

[Shazam]

Hmm.. I understand what you're saying at the original poster and I was taught the same thing when I started learning.

Saying "Me gusta Mary" means I like Mary, but implies that you like like her like you want to get with her.

I was taught to say that if you like someone on a friendly level, you would use the verb "caer"

Examples:

Mary me cae bien. = I like Mary
El me cae mal. = I don't like him

This is also the word my spanish speaking friends use to imply liking someone without wanting to be with them. Liking them on a friendly level.

I don't know. This is what I was taught, anyway.

[chileno]

Again, it is all in context.

¿Cuál de ellas te gusta?

Me gusta María.

¿Por qué?

Porque:

1. Es bonita
2. Es inteligente
3. Tiene una personalidad fuerte
4. etc

Yes, it can also be sexual, as far as you can go. :-D

[BobRitter]

OK. To be safe I guess I'll stick with
María me cae bien. = I like Mary (as a friend)
María me agrada. = I like Mary (as a friend)

He viajado mucho en países de habla hispana y encontró que los lugareños son muy indulgente cuando hago este tipo de errores. De hecho creo que en la mayoría de los casos lo disfrutan.

As always, thanks for the help.

[chileno]

As you wish.