What Is Love in Japanese

In Japanese, both ai æ„› and koi æ â€¹ can be roughly translated as love in English. However, the two characters have a slightly different nuance. Koi Koi is a love for the opposite  sex or a feeling of longing for a specific person. It can be described as romantic love or passionate love. Here are some proverbs that include koi. Koi ni shishou nashi Love needs no teaching. Koi ni jouge no hedate nashi Love makes all men equal. Koi wa shian no hoka Love is without reason. Koi wa moumoku. Love is blind. Koi wa nesshi yasuku same yasui Love becomes deep easily, but cools down soon. Ai While ai has the same meaning as koi, it also has a definition of a general feeling of love. Koi can be selfish, but ai is a real love.   Ai æ„› can be used as a female name. Japans new royal baby was named Princess Aiko, which is written with the kanji characters for love  Ã¦â€žâ€º and child  Ã¥ ­ . However, koi æ â€¹ is rarely used as a name. Another slight different between the two emotions is that koi is always wanting and ai is always giving. Words Containing Koi and Ai To find out more, the following chart will take a look at words containing ai or koi. Words containing Ai () Words containing Koi () aidokushoones favorite book hatsukoifirst love aijinlover hirensad love aijoulove; affection koibitoones boyfriend/girlfriend aikenkaa dog lover koibumilove letter aikokushinpatriotism koigatakia rival in love aishaones cherished car koi ni ochiruto fall in love with aiyousuruto use habitually koisuruto be in love with boseiaimothers love, maternal affection renailove hakuaiphilanthropy shitsurendisappointed love Renai æ â€¹Ã¦â€žâ€º is written with the kanji characters of both koi and ai. This word means, romantic love. Renai-kekkon æ â€¹Ã¦â€žâ€ºÃ§ µ Ã¥ ©Å¡ is a love marriage, which is the opposite of miai-kekkon (è ¦â€¹Ã¥ Ë†Ã£ â€žÃ§ µ Ã¥ ©Å¡, arranged marriage). Renai-shousetsu æ â€¹Ã¦â€žâ€ºÃ¥ ° Ã¨ ª ¬ is a love story or a romance novel. The title of the movie, As Good As It Gets was translated as Renai-shousetuska (æ â€¹Ã¦â€žâ€ºÃ¥ ° Ã¨ ª ¬Ã¥ ® ¶, A Romance Novel Writer). Soushi-souai ç› ¸Ã¦â‚¬ Ã§â€º ¸Ã¦â€žâ€º is one of the yoji-jukugo å››å ­â€"熟è ªÅ¾. It means, to be in love with one another. English Word for Love The Japanese sometimes use the English word love as well, though it is pronounced as rabu ãÆ' ©Ã£Æ'â€" (since there is no L or V sound in Japanese). A love letter is usually called rabu retaa ãÆ' ©Ã£Æ'â€"ãÆ' ¬Ã£â€š ¿Ã£Æ' ¼. Rabu shiin ãÆ' ©Ã£Æ'â€"ã‚ ·Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' ³ is a love scene. Young people say rabu rabu (ãÆ' ©Ã£Æ'â€"ãÆ' ©Ã£Æ'â€", love love) when they are very much in love. Words That Sound Like Love In Japanese, there are other words pronounced the same as ai and koi. Since their meanings are distinctly different, there usually no confusion between them when used in the proper context. With different kanji characters, ai èâ€"  means, indigo blue, and koi é ¯â€° means, carp. Carp streamers that are decorated on Childrens Day (May 5th) are called koi-nobori é ¯â€°Ã£  ®Ã£  ¼Ã£â€šÅ . Pronunciation To learn how to say I love you in Japanese, check out  Talking About Love.