Kanji for love: 愛 (ai) and 恋 (koi)
The kanji for love, or the Japanese symbol for love, is 愛 (あい, ai, “love”). The other common one is 恋 (こい, koi, “(romantic) love”), which is mostly romantic: the longing kind.
愛 is the broader word, covering affection and care of many kinds, and it reads plainly as "love". Both are listed under the heart radical, 心. Stroke order: 愛, 恋.
| Kanji | Strokes | On reading | Kun readings | Core meanings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 愛 | 13 | アイ (ai) | いとしい (itoshii), かなしい (kanashii), めでる (mederu), おしむ (oshimu), まな (mana) | love, affection, favourite |
| 恋 | 10 | レン (ren) | こう (kou), こい (koi), こいしい (koishii) | romance, in love, yearn for, miss, darling |
The other kun readings are rare or old, as in 愛しい (いとしい, itoshii, “lovely”).
愛 vs 恋: what is the difference?
恋 is mostly romantic. Daijisen defines it as being strongly drawn to a particular person, and yearning so deeply that it hurts. It also lists longing for a place or a season, but Nihon Kokugo Daijiten says that from the Middle Classical period it came to mean mainly romantic love.
愛 is wider, but it can be romantic too. Daijisen lists cherishing and caring for someone, and fondness for things you like to read or use. Its romantic sense is liking a particular person, with 恋 as a synonym and the example 愛が芽生える.
A rule of thumb: 恋 is wanting someone you cannot yet have, and 愛 is care for someone or something, and it lasts. That is a way to remember it, not a dictionary rule.
One kanji dictionary, 字通, reads 愛 as a person looking back plus 心: a heart that stays behind. It calls 恋 a sound-meaning compound, 心 plus a sound part, with senses such as longing.
恋 has an older form, 戀, with 23 strokes.
Words with 愛 and 恋
恋 tends to appear in romantic words, and 愛 in words of affection in general.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 恋愛 | れんあい | renai | love; romance; tender passion | Romantic love: both kanji together |
| 愛情 | あいじょう | aijō | love; affection | Love or affection, in general |
| 愛する | あいする | aisuru | to love | The verb |
| 恋する | こいする | koisuru | to fall in love (with); to love | The verb for falling in love |
| 恋人 | こいびと | koibito | lover; sweetheart; boyfriend | A boyfriend or girlfriend |
| 初恋 | はつこい | hatsukoi | first love; puppy love | Your first love |
| 恋しい | こいしい | koishii | yearned for; longed for; missed | Missed, longed for |
| 慈愛 | じあい | jiai | affection (esp. parental); love; fondness | Parental affection |
| 愛読 | あいどく | aidoku | reading with pleasure | Loving to read something |
| 愛用 | あいよう | aiyō | favorite; favourite; habitually used | A favourite you use all the time |
| 愛人 | あいじん | aijin | lover; mistress | A lover or mistress, not simply a loved one |
愛 also turns up in place names: 愛媛 (えひめ, ehime, “Ehime (prefecture)”) and 愛知 (あいち, aichi, “Aichi (prefecture)”).
Other ways to say love, and symbols of love in Japan
In daily speech, people often reach for 好き (すき, suki, “liking (romantically)”), "to like someone romantically". Many people say it more often than the heavier 愛してる. See I Love You in Japanese.
For everlasting love, there is no fixed kanji. You can build the phrase 永遠の愛 from 永遠 (えいえん, eien, “eternity”) and 愛.
One famous image is 運命の赤い糸 (うんめいのあかいいと, unmeinoakaiito, “red string of fate”). The story goes, in Chinese-Japanese folklore, that fated lovers are joined by an unseen red string tied round one little finger of each.
Anime has its own words for showing affection: see Tsundere Meaning.
Before you use a love kanji on a tattoo or a design
Check what it means before it is permanent. 愛 alone reads plainly as "love". 恋 alone means romantic longing, which may not be what you mean. Ask a Japanese reader to confirm the exact characters. New to kanji? Start with What is Kanji?.
Practise kanji at JLPT N3 level
Drill kanji with their sound and meaning, including 愛, in a two-minute quiz.
Questions about the kanji for love
What does the kanji 愛 mean?
愛 (ai) means love, affection and care. It covers romantic, family and general love.
How to write love kanji?
Love is written 愛, with 13 strokes, or 恋, with 10. Each has a page on KanaMastery that shows the stroke order: 愛 and 恋.
What is the Japanese symbol for a love tattoo?
The usual choice is 愛, which reads plainly as "love". Have a Japanese reader check any characters before you commit.
What is the Japanese symbol for everlasting love?
There is no single kanji for it. 永遠の愛 combines 永遠 with 愛.
What are symbols of love in Japan?
The kanji 愛 and 恋 are the two people mean most often, and the red string of fate (運命の赤い糸) is a well-known image from folklore.
How to write Japanese "I love you"?
The word is 愛してる, but many people say 好き (suki) more often. See I Love You in Japanese for how and when each is used.
What does "I suki you" mean?
"I suki you" mixes English with 好き (suki), which means "like" and can mean romantic liking.
What is Gaara's kanji symbol for love?
In Naruto, Gaara has the kanji 愛 (ai, "love") scarred on his left temple. English Wikipedia says he did it after deciding he must kill others to confirm his own existence, and calls him narcissistic at that point.
Is Gaara autistic?
The English Wikipedia article on Gaara does not describe him as autistic, and he is a fictional character.
Who has a crush on Gaara?
The English Wikipedia article on Gaara does not name anyone as having a crush on him.
What does the kanji 明 mean?
明 means "bright" or "light". It is not a love kanji: one reading is メイ, and it is the first kanji of 明るい (あかるい, akarui, “light”).
What does 々 mean?
々 is an iteration mark that repeats the kanji before it, and the second sound can change: 時々 (ときどき, tokidoki, “sometimes”) is ときどき. It is not a kanji and has no reading of its own.
Sources
- Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Kanji readings, meanings and stroke counts: KANJIDIC2 (EDRDG), as shown on KanaMastery's 愛 and 恋 pages.
- Definitions of 愛 (Daijisen) and the 字通 entry: Kotobank, 愛.
- Definitions of 恋 (Daijisen, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten), the 戀 form (23 strokes) and the 字通 entry: Kotobank, 恋.
- The difference between 愛 and 恋, and tattoo advice: Kanji Tools, Kanji for Love: 愛 vs 恋; Migaku, Suki, Koi and Ai.
- 々: Japanese Wikipedia, 々.
- Gaara's 愛: English Wikipedia, Gaara.
- Reviewed independently; the points about 愛 versus 恋 in everyday use, 好き against 愛してる and 永遠の愛 are waiting for a native speaker's check.