Explore 恋 through romantic feelings and relationships. Learn each reading in a complete word.
The idea
恋 has 10 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 恋（こい） means romantic love, 恋人（こいびと） a partner, 初恋（はつこい） first love, and 恋愛（れんあい） romance.
Examples
- 彼女は初めて恋をしました。She fell in love for the first time.
- 私の初恋は同級生でした。My first love was a classmate.
- 恋人と映画を見に行きました。I went to the cinema with my partner.
- この小説は恋愛を描いています。This novel is about romance.
- 彼は友達に恋をしています。He is in love with a friend.
- 友達が初恋の話をしてくれました。My friend told me about her first love.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
恋愛 is the general idea of romantic love; 恋人 is a person. Do not assume 恋 is always read こい: in 恋愛 it is れん.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 恋人 in hiragana.
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こいびと
恋人 is こいびと, a romantic partner. The reading こい belongs to the whole word.
Write the reading of 恋愛 in hiragana.
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れんあい
恋愛 is れんあい, romantic love. Here 恋 is read れん.
Choose the missing kanji: 初＿（はつこい）［恋／変］.
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恋
恋 completes 初恋（はつこい）, first love. 変 has a different lower part.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 恋人 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 恋愛 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: 初＿（はつこい）［恋／変］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 恋 following the diagram. Cover the examples, read 恋人 and 恋愛, then make a sentence with one.