愛

See also 爱

Translingual

simpl.		爱
trad.		愛

Stroke order

Etymology

Phono-semantic compound (形聲): phonetic 㤅 + semantic 夊

Han character

愛 (radical 61 心+9, 13 strokes, cangjie input 月月心水 (BBPE), four-corner 2024₇, composition ⿳⿱爫冖心夂)

1. love, be fond of, like

Derived terms

• 僾, 噯, 曖, 璦, 嬡, 靉, 瞹

References

• KangXi: page 395, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10947
• Dae Jaweon: page 732, character 2
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2323, character 1
• Unihan data for U+611B

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Cantonese

Hanzi

愛 (simplified 爱, jyutping ngoi3, oi3, Yale ngoi3, oi3)

1. love

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Hakka

Hanzi

愛 (POJ òi, Guangdong oi⁵, Hagfa Pinyim oi4)

References

• CCDICT (Chineselanguage.org)
• Academia Sinica - Hakka-English Dictionary
• Lau, Chun-fat. Hakka Pinyin Dictionary (Chinese). Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1997 (Chinese IME supplement) ISBN 962-201-750-9.

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Japanese

Kanji

愛 (grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• On: あい (ai)
• Kun: いと.しい (ito.shii), かな.しい (kana.shii), め.でる (me.deru), め.で (me.de), めで (mede), お.しむ (o.shimu), まな (mana)
• Nanori: あ (a), あい (ai), あし (ashi), え (e), かな (kana), なる (naru), めぐ (megu), めぐみ (megumi), よし (yoshi), ちか (chika)

Compounds

Compounds

愛玩 (あいがん, aigan) 愛機 (あいき, aiki) 愛敬 (あいきょう, aikyō) 愛顧 (あいこ, aiko) 愛護 (あいご, aigo) 愛国 (あいこく, aikoku) 愛妻 (あいさい, aisai): one's beloved wife 愛児 (あいじ, aiji) 愛車 (あいしゃ, aisha): one's beloved car 愛社 (あいしゃ, aisha) 愛唱 (あいしょう, aishō)

愛称 (あいしょう, aishō) 愛人 (あいじん, aijin) 愛想 (あいそう, aisou) 愛憎 (あいぞう, aizō) 愛着 (あいちゃく, aichaku): affection (to things) 愛鳥 (あいちょう, aichō) 愛読 (あいどく, aidoku): loving to read 愛用 (あいよう, aiyō): loving to use 寵愛 (ちょうあい, chōai) 可愛い (かわいい, kawaii)

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese 愛 (/ʔojH/, “to love”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• IPA: [a̠i]

Noun

愛 (hiragana あい, romaji ai)

1. love
2. affection

Synonyms

• (love, generally more passionate or erotic): 恋 (こい, koi)
• (love, generally more passionate or erotic): 恋愛 (れんあい, ren'ai)
• (affection): 愛情 (あいじょう, aijō)

Derived terms

• 愛する (あいする, aisuru): to love
• 愛らしい (あいらしい, airashii): lovely
• 愛してる (あいしてる, aishiteru): I love you

Idioms

• 愛して見れば鼻欠けも靨 (あいしてみればはなかけもえくぼ, aishite mireba hanakake mo ekubo): “if you love someone, even a missing nose is only a dimple” ⇒ no matter how ugly, when you love someone, they're beautiful to you

Proper noun

愛 (hiragana あい, romaji Ai)

1. A female given name
2. A surname.

Etymology 2

Noun stem of Old Japanese verb 愛でる (mederu, “to love; to appreciate or admire”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [me̞de̞]

Alternative forms

• 愛で, 目出

Noun

愛 (hiragana めで, romaji mede)

1. (archaic) love, appreciation, dearness
   • c. 759: Man'yōshū (book 5, poem #894)

     愛能盛尓 天下 奏多麻比志 家子等 撰多麻比天

     愛の盛りに 天の下 申し給ひし 家の子と 選ひ給ひて

     めでのさかりに あめのした まをしたまひし いへのこと えらひたまひて

     mede no sakari ni ame no shita mōshitamai shi ie no ko to erabitamaite

     with the utmost of love, [Amaterasu] spoke under the heavens, and chose with her children...

Idioms

• 愛の盛り (めでのさかり, mede no sakari): the height of love, the utmost love

Related terms

• 愛でる (めでる, mederu): to love; to admire or appreciate
• 愛でたい (めでたい, medetai):　favorable

Etymology 3

Originally a compound of 真 (ma, “true, genuine”) +‎ な (na), an Old Japanese version of modern Japanese の (no, possessive particle). The use of 愛 here is an example of ateji.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA: [ma̠na̠]

Noun

愛 (hiragana まな, romaji mana)

1. (archaic) (derived from prefix sense) something dear, something loved
   • c. 759: Man'yōshū (book 14, poem #3462)

     麻奈登伊布兒我 安夜尓可奈思佐

     愛といふ児が あやに愛しさ

     まなといふこが あやにかなしさ

     mana to iu ko ga aya ni kanashisa

     the child called a dear, such indescribable tenderness

Prefix

愛 (hiragana まな, romaji mana-)

1. before a common noun, expresses a sense of admiration or value: good, genuine; compare English the real deal
2. before a noun describing a person, expresses praise or fondness: dear, beloved

Derived terms

• 愛弟子 (まなでし, manadeshi)
• 愛子 (まなご, manago)
• 愛娘 (まなむすめ, manamusume)

Proper noun

愛 (hiragana まな, romaji Mana)

1. A female given name

Etymology 4

Used as ateji in various names. 愛 is a very common element in many, many names.

Names

Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あづみ, romaji Azumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ああい, romaji Aai) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あいか, romaji Aika) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あいす, romaji Aisu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あき, romaji Aki) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あこ, romaji Ako) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あみか, romaji Amika) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あおい, romaji Aoi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ありさ, romaji Arisa) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あや, romaji Aya) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana あゆ, romaji Ayu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ちぎり, romaji Chigiri) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ちか, romaji Chika) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ちかし, romaji Chikashi) A male or female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana えりな, romaji Erina) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana はあと, romaji Haato) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ひかり, romaji Hikari) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana いと, romaji Ito) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana いとし, romaji Itoshi) A male or female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana いつみ, romaji Itsumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana いずみ, romaji Izumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana かな, romaji Kana) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana かなえ, romaji Kanae) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana かなさ, romaji Kanasa) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana きずな, romaji Kizuna) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana こころ, romaji Kokoro) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana このむ, romaji Konomu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana まどか, romaji Madoka) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana まなぶ, romaji Manabu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana まなみ, romaji Manami) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めづる, romaji Mezuru) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めご, romaji Mego) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めぐ, romaji Megu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めぐみ, romaji Megumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めぐむ, romaji Megumu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana めい, romaji Mei) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana なる, romaji Naru) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana なるこ, romaji Naruko) A male or female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana のぞみ, romaji Nozomi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana らぶ, romaji Rabu) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana るい, romaji Rui) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana さら, romaji Sara) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana さらん, romaji Saran) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana つぐみ, romaji Tsugumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana つくみ, romaji Tsukumi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana うい, romaji Ui) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana よし, romaji Yoshi) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana よしき, romaji Yoshiki) A female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana よしみ, romaji Yoshimi) A male or female given name Proper noun 愛 (hiragana ゆき, romaji Yuki) A female given name

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Korean

Hanja

愛 (hangeul 애, revised ae, McCune-Reischauer ae, Yale ay)

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Mandarin

simpl.		爱
trad.		愛

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: [ ai˥˩ ]

Hanzi

愛 (simplified 爱, pinyin ài (ai4), Wade-Giles ai⁴)

Noun

愛 (traditional, Pinyin ài, simplified 爱)

1. (Beginning Mandarin) love

Verb

愛 (traditional, Pinyin ài, simplified 爱)

1. (Beginning Mandarin) to love; to be fond of

Usage notes

When used for people, ài usually refers to romantic love. When used like this, older Mandarin speakers often describe the use of this term as overly 肉麻 (ròumá, adj. something that gives you the creeps, disgusting). For this reason, the word 喜歡 (xǐhuān, to like) might be used instead. Using the word xǐhuān literally means like, but when used in a romantic context (especially boyfriend/girlfriend), it actually means love. However, younger Mandarin speakers seem to have been influenced somewhat by Western culture, and are now using the verb ài much more often than was socially acceptable in the past.

Compounds

愛別離苦 愛不釋手 愛才如命 愛財 愛巢 愛稱 愛寵 愛答不理, 愛答不理的 愛戴

愛爾蘭 愛撫 愛國 愛國主義 愛好 愛河 愛護 愛克斯光 愛克斯射線 愛理不理

愛憐 愛戀 愛侶 愛美 愛面子 愛莫能助 愛慕 愛卿 愛情 愛人

愛人兒 愛沙尼亞 愛神 愛斯基摩人 愛窩窩 愛屋及烏 愛惜 愛小 愛心 愛悅 愛憎

References

• 2000, Jingmin (ed.) Shao, HSK Dictionary (HSK汉语水平考试词典) (in Mandarin/English), Shanghai: Huadong Teachers College Publishers, ISBN 7561720785:

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Min Nan

simpl.		爱
trad.		愛

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ ai˨˩ ]

Noun

愛 (traditional, POJ ài, simplified 爱)

1. love

Verb

愛 (traditional, POJ ài, simplified 爱)

1. to love; to like; to be fond of
2. want; must; need
3. to be prone; to be easy to
4. to treasure; to value
   • 2005: anon. zh-min-nan:wikipedia:User_talk:Wdshu#Hoklo_Dictionary_with_Unicode

     有一點愛注意的，都是Wikipedia是Unicode的環境

     Ū 1 tiám ài chù-ì--ê, tō-sī Wikipedia sī Unicode ê khoân-kéng

     There's one thing you must bear in mind, which is that Wikipedia is a Unicode environment

See also

• (Mandarin) 要 (yào) want; must; need

References

• "愛" (in Taiwanese/English), On-line Taiwanese/Mandarin Dictionary (台文／華文線頂辭典). URL accessed on 2011-01-29.

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Vietnamese

Han character

愛 (ái, áy)