The term ‘babe‘ is a common endearment term lovers use for each other.
Many couples come up with many other pet names for themselves, but ‘babe’ is a relatively common one.
Pet names are one of the many ways lovers show how special they are to each other.
When a guy you are not in a relationship with calls you ‘babe,’ it could confuse you, and you probably silently wonder what that means.
Should you read a special meaning to it or see it as a mere affectionate term he chooses to use for his female friends?
”He Calls Me Babe But I’m Not His Girlfriend: What Does It Mean?
Your guy friend calling you ‘babe’ could mean any of the following:
1. He likes you
Yes, your guy friend could be calling you babe because he likes you, and he wants to give you a hint without being direct.
Since lovers often use this term, he wants to stylishly express his desire to be your lover by calling you his babe.
He probably imagines that you will question his reason for calling you that, and that would be a perfect ice-breaker and conversation starter for him.
Some men are shy and might not know how best to approach such conversations without coming off as disrespectful, especially in the case of platonic friendships.
If the feeling is mutual, you can take the cue and ask him directly why he calls you babe.
In my opinion, being shy should never be an excuse to skip the profession of love.
As the lady, you can only make things easier for him; you cannot help him assume his intentions because of pet names.
2. He is flirting with you
Some men do quite poorly with friendships with the opposite sex and quickly take advantage of the friendship by flirting with their female friends.
If he calls you babe even though you are not his girlfriend, this could suggest that he is flirting with you, and this does not necessarily mean that he loves you or is interested in you for something serious.
You need to study his actions and composure around you to figure out if he is flirting with you.
There may be other come-hither moves he subtly makes towards you, which could hint at his intention towards you.
If you fall for his flirtatious moves without a proper definition of things, you are prone to end up as friends with benefits.
3. He wants to make himself special
He is single, he wishes to be in a relationship, and he wants to use you to have a feel of what it’s like being in a relationship.
He, therefore, calls you pet names like babe, as he would call his girlfriend if he had one. In other words, you are partially playing the role of a pseudo-girlfriend to him.
If you sense that this is his motive and you care about making him feel special too, this may not outrightly be a bad idea, provided you play the game without letting your feelings get in the way so you do not end up as friends with benefits beyond pet names.
4. He wants to make you feel special
When a guy calls you babe, it could mean that he wants you to feel special and wants you to feel good about yourself.
He is probably thinking of winning you over and seeks to facilitate things by giving you a pet name.
He believes that all women like to be distinguished from other women when it comes to their men, and this is how he seeks to make you think of him as your man.
He thinks this gesture of affection will make him appear cool in your eyes.
You will admit that this may make you feel special to him, and if he ticks some of the boxes, it is only a matter of time before you begin to reciprocate.
5. He wants to use you to spark jealousy
He has a lady he wants to make jealous.
He believes he could achieve such with your friendship, he, therefore, addresses you as babe in the presence of the lady in order to pass an unspoken message that you both could be an item.
In cases like this, do not be taken aback to find out that you are not the original target of his affection.
The other lady is. He just wants to use you to catch her attention.
This explains why I am never a fan of assumptions in relationships.
There is a period to non-verbally give hints, and there has to arrive a period where the non-verbal hints are well and clearly expressed to avoid being victims of ulterior motives such as this.
6. He wants to play mind games
Guys who play mind games on ladies are also fond of this practice.
A guy could call you babe while all along acting platonic with you, even though he is interested in you.
This could be because he wants to send mixed signals, and he wants to give you the job of trying to figure out what his intentions could be.
If he is not your boyfriend and he keeps calling you babe, it could be that he wants you to chase him so that it would appear as though you are the one interested in him.
This is what mind game players often seek to achieve.
They will make you appear like the chaser to gain control of the relationship.
In this case, I suggest you tread carefully and not think much of or act upon a man’s pet names, except if he finds courage and clearly professes his feelings for you.
7. He wants to mark a territory
A guy could address you as babe because he wants to ward off other guys from you.
He probably wants to make his friends and your other guy friends understand that you are a special friend to him even though he has not asked you out just yet.
He wants to take his time to get to know you and decide if he wants to shoot his shot or not.
So, in the meantime, he discourages other potential suitors by calling you babe to their hearing.
This way, they will likely assume you are both an item and step back.
This is a purely selfish move if you ask me.
It’s okay that he wants to be sure before asking you out.
However, since he is unsure of what he wants, he has no business chasing other potential suitors away from you.
LAST THOUGHTS
There, you have it!
These are some of the possible motives your guy friend may have for calling you babe.
If you are like me, who does not like to be caught unawares with the profession of love from the other gender, you are likely not to mind the idea of being called babe.
That way, I have enough time to study him and decipher his intentions so that nothing comes as a rude shock.
Many ladies like to be hinted, so they can have enough time to process their thoughts in advance.
However, pet names should not be banked on as a genuine show of affection.
As revealed above, they may or may not come from a place of noble intentions.