愛 — love, affection
あい
愛
love
Grade 4
Japanese school grade level in which this kanji is taught. Grade 1 is first year of elementary school.
13 strokes
emotion
U+611B
Unicode hex codepoint — a unique identifier for this character in the Unicode standard.
Freq #640
Frequency rank among the ~2,500 most common kanji in Japanese newspapers. Lower number = more common.
Heisig #737
Index in James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" — a popular textbook that teaches kanji through mnemonics and stories.
Meanings
- love
- affection
word
あい ai On'yomi On'yomi (音読み) — the Sino-Japanese reading, derived from Chinese pronunciation. Most commonly used in compound words (jukugo).
いと ito Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).
わい wai Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).
え e Kun'yomi Kun'yomi (訓読み) — the native Japanese reading of this kanji. Used when the kanji appears alone or with okurigana (trailing hiragana).
Appears in idioms
Components
Composed of
Used as component in (1)
Compound ideograph (会意). Contains 心 (heart) at its center, with elements suggesting a person turning back with feeling. Love and affection — the heart that cannot bear to walk away.