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N3

Kanji 愛: meanings, readings, and example words.

2 min read

Kanji 愛: love, affection, favourite

Key takeaways

Kanji 愛: love, affection, favourite. Readings and core meaning.

See vocabulary and examples below.

Kanji at a glance

N3

Meaning

loveaffectionfavourite

On reading

アイ

Kun reading

いと.しいかな.しいめ.でるお.しむまな

Radical

Core meaning / core image

Core meaning: 愛

love, affection, favourite

Kanji structure breakdown

Structure breakdown

⺤ + 冖 + 心 + 夂

Mnemonic story

Mnemonic story

Imagine a hand (⺤) gently covering (冖) a heart (心) while walking slowly (夂). This represents the act of cherishing someone's heart and walking through life together with love and affection.

On'yomi and kun'yomi

On reading

アイ
  • 愛想あいそ

    courtesy / friendliness / social grace

  • 愛憎あいぞう

    love and hate feelings

  • 恋愛れんあい

    romantic love / affection / passion

  • あい

    love / affection / care

  • 愛情あいじょう

    love / affection / care

  • 愛するあいする

    to love / have affection for

Commonly used words

  • 愛想
    あいそ

    courtesy / friendliness / social grace

  • 愛憎
    あいぞう

    love and hate feelings

  • 恋愛
    れんあい

    romantic love / affection / passion

  • あい

    love / affection / care

  • 愛情
    あいじょう

    love / affection / care

  • 愛する
    あいする

    to love / have affection for

Example sentences

Example 1

彼女は想がよくて人気がある。

Translation

She is friendly and popular.

Example 2

店員の想が悪くて残念だった。

Translation

The clerk's bad attitude was disappointing.

Example 3

彼の憎は複雑だ。

Translation

His feelings of love and hate are complicated.

Example 4

憎が入り混じった話だ。

Translation

It's a story mixed with love and hate.

Kanji 愛: love, affection, favourite | Daily Nihongo