Chinese character for LOVE is 愛. The Chinese, Korean, and Japanese speakers encounter this word popping up everywhere and anywhere, just as often as the English speakers hear the word Love. It is pronounced differently in each of the three languages but it is still the same character 愛 ài in Mandarine, ai in Japanese, or æ in Korean.

I heard that in Greek they have specific words for love depending on the object of love; such as eros for romantic love, philia for friendship, storge for love of family members, and agape for universal love. It is amazing how just one simple word such as love, 愛, or amour encompasses all of them. I imagine each language would have an interchangeable word for love or 愛. 

Love is universal. It doesn’t need to be explained or translated. We all know what love is.

Originally the character 愛 was made by combining two characters: 旡(a person kneeling with an open mouth) and 心(a heart).  Later the first part was replaced by other characters, but the heart stayed. Accordingly, the character can be interpreted in several ways depending on which version of the character one is referencing.

I looked at the ancient version of the character 愛 and 旡. (The top one is for the former and the bottom one corresponds to the latter.)

For me, it looks like a praying person with a heart at the center. When someone prays, his or heart heart becomes love.

Or love is when a person’s heart is awakened by love… which is also what happens when a person is praying.

When our heart is connected to God, we become our true selves.