愛 – Japanese Words for Love
There are several different Japanese words for love. Some are nouns, others are adjectives and some are more common than others. Let’s take a look.
INDEX
Nouns for love
The two main nouns for love are 愛 and 恋.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/愛 – Ai
Out of all the Japanese words for love, 愛 is the most representative and common word for love. If you translate the English word love into Japanese 愛 is the closest. 愛 can be used for romantic love, love for family, and so on.
恋 – Koi
The next word, 恋 is also very common. It is used exclusively to refer to romantic interest. For example when you fall in love with someone. In Japanese,
恋に落ちる
to fall in love
Verbs for love
If you are talking about a verb, for love, you have a few choices.
愛する and 好き – Aisuru and Suki
愛する is made from the main word for love, 愛. It translated closest to the English verb, to love. But, in Japanese, it is not used as much.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2020/09/20/how-to-say-i-love-you-in-japanese-dont/
好き is another word that actually is not a verb. Sentences that use it though will translate as a verb in English. This word actually means like but it can also translate to love. Especially if you add 大 in front of the word making it 大好き.
犬が大好き
I love dogs
Adjective for love
Finally, we have two Japanese words for love, 恋しい, and 愛おしい which are adjectives. 愛おしい is kind of like beloved and 恋しい is a word used for something someone is longing for.
