Does he like me if he takes hours to text back

A guy who takes four hours to text back might be interested but bad at checking his phone. He might have work that keeps him offline. He might text everyone slowly. Or yes, he might not be that interested. The single gap tells you nothing reliable.

What you can learn from patterns over weeks is more useful. Does he reply to 9 of 10 messages within 24 hours, or does he go dark for two days then suddenly text? Does he ask you questions, or do you always carry the conversation? Those patterns reveal something real about his investment. A single delayed reply, especially early on, is just noise.

Don't acknowledge the delay. Ignore it completely. No 'finally' or 'where have you been' or 'guess you were busy'. That frame casts you as waiting and him as delinquent, which kills the vibe you want to create.

Instead, send something that works whether he replies in ten minutes or ten hours. Make it specific enough that it moves things forward, not generic. Give him an easy reason to text back. If he asked you something before the gap, answer it cleanly then add a question or observation that opens the door to his next reply. If this was just banter, either let it die or pivot to something that requires actual engagement from him.

After two weeks of texting, you should have a real sense of his baseline. If he's consistently taking 12+ hours, never initiating, and sending one liners, that's him showing you where texting ranks for him. Respond once more if you want, then stop reaching out. See if he ever texts first. If he doesn't in the next week, he's not building anything with you.

Don't wait through a third cycle of silence hoping he'll change patterns. Someone who's into you doesn't make you question whether he's into you through texting patterns. He shows up. There are exceptions for guys with jobs that keep them offline, but those guys usually explain it or make up for it when you're together.