Explore 愛 in words for love and affection, from family bonds to romantic relationships.

The idea

愛 has 13 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. Its common reading is あい, as in 愛, 恋愛 and 愛情. 愛する is a verb meaning to love. Learn each reading with the whole word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
愛あいI made a song about love for my family.
愛するあいするThe mother loves her child deeply.
恋愛れんあいThis novel depicts romantic love.
愛情あいじょうHe showers his dog with affection.

Examples

  • 家族かぞくへの愛あいを歌うたにしました。I made a song about love for my family.
  • 母ははは子こどもを深ふかく愛あいしています。The mother loves her child deeply.
  • この小説しょうせつは恋愛れんあいを描えがいています。This novel depicts romantic love.
  • 彼かれは犬いぬに愛情あいじょうを注そそいでいます。He showers his dog with affection.
  • 祖母そぼはこの町まちを愛あいしています。My grandmother loves this town.
  • 二人ふたりの間あいだに愛あいが生うまれました。Love grew between the two of them.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

愛する can sound more solemn or intense than 好きです, which is common for everyday likes and expressions of affection. 恋愛 specifically concerns romantic love; 愛情 is affection more broadly.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 愛 in hiragana.

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    あい

    愛 is read あい; it can name love for family as well as romantic love.

  2. Write the reading of 恋愛 in hiragana.

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    れんあい

    恋愛 is read れんあい and refers to romantic love, as in the novel example.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: ＿情（あいじょう）［愛／受］.

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    愛

    愛 completes 愛情（あいじょう）, meaning affection; 受 does not form that word.

Use it today

Write 愛 using the diagram. Cover the table, read 恋愛 and 愛情, then make a sentence with one of them.