Wondering if he likes you is often hard to interpret, especially with a shy guy. Read on for 15 signs that a shy guy likes you!
Guys can be hard to decode. He may hover around and stare at you, but there are a lot of potential reasons for that behavior. While it can seem like men are a mystery, the fact of the matter is that they are often just shy. Read up on these signs to tell if a shy guy likes you, and tips on how to coax him out of his shell.
Men and women often feel like they don’t understand each other. Dating is hard, and the looming threat of rejection can make even confident men wary of making the first move. But there are other ways to tell that a shy guy may me into you.
He might act so strange that you have no idea if he likes you or hates you. He could even rub you the wrong way at first, as most women dislike being gaped at by anyone.
Unless you have figured out the signs that a guy likes you, you could be annoyed by a shy guy and his perceived social ineptitude.
He’ll try to hide it from you, while it can be so obvious to other people. That leaves you to try to determine the signs that a shy guy likes you.
So if you dig him too, a good approach is to simply confront and ask him if he likes you. In fact, that may just be what exactly he needs. Just make sure that it’s not always you who ends up making the first move, though. It gets old fast.
How to tell if a shy guy likes you
If this guy is really shy and introverted, he will not have his heart on his sleeve around you. At the very least he wouldn’t have you, of all people, finding out how he feels.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be signs. Keep your eyes out for these signs that a shy guy likes you. It can help you decide if and when you want to make the first move.
1. He stares when you’re not looking
He’s too shy to let you know what he feels, so he’ll be utterly content admiring you from afar.
Well, at least until he has gathered enough courage to finally let you know how he feels. However, considering that he’s so shy, that’ll probably take a while.
So, he’ll be staring at you. Except you’ll be totally oblivious because when you look his way, he’ll quickly look away. He may act like he got caught doing something he didn’t mean to.
Everyone gets caught looking at someone once in a while and it’s usually innocuous. But if you repeatedly catch them looking at you, it may be a sign that that shy guy likes you. [Read: Does he have a crush on me? 20 signs he just can’t hide]
2. He avoids eye contact
A way to tell that a shy guy likes you is that they can’t look you in the eye. They’re staring at you all day, but when you look at them they look away.
If you finally get to talk to him, he’ll look anywhere but at you. His answers are likely short and filled with awkward, nervous chuckling. While it’s not a great conversation, but it is a sign that a shy guy likes you.
Maybe he’s afraid you’re going to hypnotize him into finally admitting his feelings for you. It’s more likely he’s just afraid you’ll see in his eyes the real truth. That he’s truly, madly, deeply into you.
Whatever the reason, someone not looking you in the eyes when talking to you is remarkably off-putting. If you want to get to the bottom of it you should ask why he can’t look at you. That’ll shake any shy guy out of their trance. This is a good way to get a shy guy to finally ask you out. [Read: How to ask someone out over text and get that satisfying “yes” ]
3. He’s nervous around you
While any normal guy would be fine talking to you, Mr. Shy Guy isn’t. He’ll be too self-conscious and therefore awkward, which quickly snowballs into more awkwardness and nervousness. This is a clear tell that a shy guy likes you.
It’s like he’s scared around you and he’s trying to talk to you but his shyness gets ahead of himself. So he ends up just being a big bag of jitters in front of you.
Again, it’s easy to read this as general social awkwardness, but it is likely a result of him being into you, and too nervous to do anything about it. [Read: How to never run out of things to say & banish the awkward silence]
4. He becomes such a klutz when you are around
This goes hand-in-hand with the nervousness. Even just having you in the same room as him has him spilling coffee on his shirt or knocking things off his desk, as if you were a earthquake instead of a person
Being too self-conscious and aware of your presence it turns out makes him be all awkward and jumpy.[Read: Does he like me? 18 signs to decode his body language]
Many people find this endearing. If you want to encourage this shy guy to ask you out, don’t point out his sudden clumsiness— as anyone who gets nervous jitters will tell you, having them highlighted *especially by someone you like* is mortifying.
Instead, consider offering them a stain pen for their coffee covered shirt, and mention that you keep them on you because you are clumsy too. By being friendly and showing the shy guy that you are just a person, it can lay the groundwork for getting them to ask you out.
5. He clams up
Ever see him talking animatedly with his friends, but as soon as he sees you come into the room, he suddenly clams up? It’s not that he has, coincidentally, finished his story every time you walk in.
It’s just he either loses his train of thought or wouldn’t want to continue with what he thinks is a lame story in front of you. To put it simply, he just thinks too much when you’re around that he forgets to talk.
If you want to know how to get a shy guy to ask you out, consider talking to them first. You don’t have to ask them on a date or anything, just ask them how their day is going or about something you have in common. Hopefully by showing him that you want to talk to him, the shy guy will relax enough to have a conversation with you.
6. He struggles to make conversation with you
A good sign that a shy guy likes you is that, when you finally do get him talking, he seems to have a really hard time. He may be able to hold conversations with other people just fine. But with you he can’t seem to get it right.
It still boils down to him being too nervous and anxious around you. If you ask him a question, he may answer with short quips that you would think is just rude or arrogant of him, but he’s just actually on edge and tongue-tied.
7. He got your number from a friend
While this shy guy probably wants to talk to you, he could only do so by phone, through chat, or social media. This is because he struggles looking at your beautiful face. He can only communicate through a medium that puts distance between the two of you.
But he also didn’t have enough guts to ask for your number so he summoned up just enough to ask your friend for your digits.[Read: 30 facts about guys that can help you read his mind]
This modern dating technique is a silly and somewhat cowardly one, but it can be effective. If nothing else, the shy guy getting your number from a friend is a sure sign that the shy guy likes you. After all, why else would he go out of his way to get your phone number?
8. He’s only good at texting or messaging
So now that he has your number, he’d be all up on you asking how you are. He’ll be so witty and funny as you exchange messages, but when you see him in person he clams up again. You ask, “Where’s that smart, charming guy I was chatting with?!?”
The smart, charming guy is still the shy guy. As soon as you two are comfortable with each other in person, he will come out of his shell.
Now that the line of communication is open, even via text, you may wonder– how to get the shy guy to ask you out? [Read: When a guy stops texting you every day: why & what you NEED to do]
You could start dropping hints via text that you want to meet up in person for a date. If he has any courage, he will take it as a sign to ask you out. If he doesn’t, you might want to reconsider pursuing this shy guy. After all, dating requires bravery!
9. He hovers
A sign this shy guy likes you is when he just seems to be wherever you are. The bar you hang out in on weekends, the coffee shop you pass by to get your caffeine fix in the morning, the copy room, etc.
The thing is, he just wants to be close to you for the chance you may finally notice him. He’s also into you so much that a whiff of your shampoo is enough to make his day.
This behavior is either charming or creepy, depending on how much you like this guy.
10. He’s asking around about you
While the shy guy is talking to all your friends except you, what you don’t know is he may be asking around about you. What you like, your favorite food, if you’re single, what your favorite band is, where you got those nice eyes, and all that.
All of this interrogation is a sign that he likes you. He wants to know every single detail about you until he finally sums up the courage to ask you out and give you the best date ever. [Read: How to talk to your crush and make them fall for you]
11. He gets teased when you’re there
So you’re in the room together and your office mates are giving him “the eye” which makes him so much more uneasy. His friends, with good intentions for their guy, also tease him around you. Even urging him with cryptic comments that actually mean he should finally ask you out. All of this goes to show that not only have you noticed that the shy guy likes you, but other people have noticed too.
If you are interested in moving along the process of getting a shy guy to ask you out, you can tell one of his friends to encourage him to make a move. It’ll mean a lot more coming from you instead of just them.
12. He likes the things that you like
And he makes sure you know it. Normally, any guy wouldn’t step outside his comfort zone for anything. However, when it comes to the girl he likes, he’d always be up for doing new things, especially if that thing is something that you like.
This is in the hopes you will not only notice him—you two might finally make a date out of pottery-making or henna tattooing. [Read: 30 peculiar signs to look for when a guy likes you]
13. He talks to other women, but not you
If the shy guy can’t talk to any women, he may just be a weirdo with bad social skills.
But a sign that a shy guy likes you is when he has no problem talking with other women, but when it comes to you, he just can’t do it. Your presence makes him tongue tied. You see, you have an effect on him that no other woman has, and, duh—he’s just so into you.
14. He always wants to be a part of the conversation you are in
Is the shy guy always on the periphery of your conversations with friends and coworkers? Maybe they laugh at your jokes, or quip a few of their own when in a group setting— but once you are one on one, they shut up. [Read: How to tell if a woman likes you: 33 subtle signs most men ignore]
This is a sign a shy guy likes you. They want to get your attention and engage, but only in the protection and comfort of a group setting. When you are one on one, the pressure is too much and they shut down.
15. He hasn’t asked you out
So in case you’re wondering, while all the signs point to him digging you, he hasn’t asked you out. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Any other guy would have already gotten a reservation at that cool new restaurant he’s going to take you Saturday night. However, Mr. Shy Guy is different.
First, he doesn’t really know how to ask you out *he’s just too nervous just thinking about it*. Second, if you two indeed went out together, he’d be nervous and worry he’d make a bad impression. It all leads to making him even more nervous.
How to get a shy guy to ask you out
There is no way to make someone ask you out. You can drop hints, suggest that their friends encourage them, or out and out tell them you want them to ask you out. But ultimately, the choice is theirs.
This leaves you with two options– either ask him out yourself, or you can wait and see if he can pluck up the courage. Both are fine routes to take, but keep in mind that if you ask them out first, they might take it as a sign that you are willing to take the lead in the relationship.
This can be problematic down the road, when you begin to feel that the relationship is one sided with you doing all of the hard and scary emotional work, while they coast along with no real responsibility other than “doing what you want.”
Rejection is scary. It is also a perfectly normal part of dating that happens to everyone from supermodels to everyday people. You can try to figure out how to get a shy guy to ask you out, but ultimately you have to ask yourself: if this person is not willing to face possible, minor rejection are they really someone you want to be in a relationship with?
[Read: How to get a shy guy to like you and ask you out]
So there you have it, a guide to tell if a shy guy likes you, or if a guy likes you but he’s just too shy to tell you. Once you see these signs, fret no more—you’re not repulsive, your next-door neighbor or that guy in your office is just too shy to tell you he likes you A LOT.
