How to Say LOVE in Japanese
Hi, Junko from Japan here! The word “love” says AI in Japanese, and here’s a Kanji for LOVE.
The Origin of Japanese Love Symbol
The Kanji for love consists of three parts. The top part pictures a person who is looking back. The middle one with three dots stands for one’s heart, and the bottom one with crossed lines is for the legs. The whole symbol represents the feeling of someone who is looking back while walking.
Why can this shape mean love?
It’s said this person tries to leave a place but can’t because they miss someone precious. So they’re looking back. This feeling is meant to be LOVE.
What are Japanese Symbols for Love and Peace?
The Japanese word for peace is HEIWA. You need two Kanji letters to write it. Here’s the Japanese symbol for peace.
HEI = flat, equal, normal, easy
WA = harmonize, mix, peaceful
So if you want to say “love and peace” in Japanese, it’ll be AI TO HEIWA. TO means “and” and it’s written in a Hiragana character.
What Symbolizes Love in Japan?
We don’t have any special symbols for love in Japanese culture. The most common symbol is a heart mark, and we don’t have any special symbols for love in Japanese culture.
I think that’s because we originally didn’t have the exact word for love in ancient times. In the old Japanese language, there were no words that were equivalent to the English word “love.” Instead, Japanese people in the old days had several words for the feelings of love and distinguished them.
For example, the desire to protect and admire someone adorable such as a little child was called JO or JOAI. The romantic feelings were named IRO or KOI. To cherish someone you love is ITSUKUSHIMU. They are all love but are expressed with different words.
The word “love” we currently use was brought into Japan by Christianity. It’s said the Japanese word AI was newly created in the 1800s to translate the English word “love.”
I suppose that Japanese culture doesn’t have something traditional to symbolize love since the concept is too new and doesn’t have a long history.
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