love in Chinese

How to write 爱

Animated stroke order. Tap a character to replay its stroke order.

爱 is listed in the official HSK vocabulary at HSK 1. The beginner band covers the first, most essential words every learner needs.

爱 in a sentence

• 我wǒ爱ài你nǐ。

  I love you.

• 我wǒ爱ài我wǒ的de家jiā人rén。

  I love my family.

• 我wǒ们men都dōu爱ài和hé平píng。

  We all love peace.

• 她tā非fēi常cháng爱ài读dú书shū。

  She loves reading very much.

爱 vs 喜欢 vs 热爱

Similar and easily confused words, and how they differ.

• 喜欢 xǐ huan to like

  The lighter everyday word — 我喜欢茶 'I like tea'. 爱 implies deep love: 我爱中国 is stronger than 我喜欢中国.

• 热爱 rè ài to love ardently

  Formal, lofty love for big things — 热爱工作, 热爱祖国. Sounds odd for people or small things.