あい

See also アイ, and Appendix:Variations of "ai"

Japanese

Kanji reading

あい (romaji ai)

On-reading of:

• 哀: sadness, anguish
• 埃: dust
• 愛: love
• 隘: narrow
• 娃: beauty, beautiful girl

Kun-reading of:

• 合: together, to meet, between
• 会: together, to meet
• 相: together, to meet
• 間: between
• 鮎: sweetfish

Noun

あい (romaji ai)

1. 愛: love
2. 藍: indigo
3. 鮎: Alternate form of the word あゆ (ayu), sweetfish.

Affix

あい (ai)

• 相, 合い

1. Mutual, together, each other, meeting. From verb form あう: to meet, to be together, etc.
   • 兄弟はいつも相戦うものだ。
   • きょうだいはいつもあいたたかうものだ。
   • Kyōdai wa itsu mo aitatakau mono da.
   • Brothers (siblings) will always fight (with each other).

Usage notes

• Generally, 相 when used as a prefix, 合い when used as a suffix.
  • 相手 (あいて, aite): partner, opponent.
  • 意味合い (いみあい, imiai): implication, shade of meaning, nuance.