The Kanji for Love (愛 and 恋): Meaning, Readings & Difference

Japanese famously has two kanji that both translate as “love”: 愛 and 恋. They are not interchangeable, and choosing the wrong one can make a sentence sound off. This guide breaks down both.

愛 (ai) — deep, selfless love

愛 is the broad, enduring kind of love: love for family, humanity, a country, or a lifelong partner. Its on'yomi is アイ (ai) and it appears in words like 愛情 (aijō, affection) and 愛犬 (aiken, a beloved dog).

• On'yomi: アイ (ai)
• Kun'yomi: いと(しい) — itoshii, dear/beloved
• Stroke count: 13
• Example: 愛している (aishiteiru) — “I love you,” the heaviest, most committed way to say it.

恋 (koi) — romantic longing

恋 is romantic love specifically — the butterflies, the longing, the in-love feeling toward one person. It carries a sense of yearning and can imply the love is not yet fulfilled. You'll see it in 恋人 (koibito, romantic partner) and 初恋 (hatsukoi, first love).

• On'yomi: レン (ren)
• Kun'yomi: こい (koi), こ(う) — kou, to long for
• Stroke count: 10
• Example: 恋に落ちる (koi ni ochiru) — “to fall in love.”

愛 vs 恋: the one-line rule

恋 is the love you feel; 愛 is the love you give. 恋 is about wanting; 愛 is about caring.

Combine them and you get 恋愛 (ren'ai) — “romance” as a general concept, the dating-and-relationships sense used in 恋愛映画 (ren'ai eiga, romance film).

Related love kanji worth knowing

好き (suki) is the everyday “like/love,” lighter than either kanji above. 情 (jō) is emotion or affection, and 心 (kokoro) — heart/mind — sits at the core of all of them; it's literally the radical inside 愛 and 恋.