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Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 00:19
I know Japanese has a lot of words that means love but I guess each of them has it's strength.
(I read before that Japanese didn't have an equivelant for love or like but when they started translating English novels to Japanese they were forced to translate it to "Rabu". which is love.)
Suki: to like something or someone. You can say it to your friends, family, food, drinks ect.
Horeru: (If I wasn't mistaken: is to love and it is a verb.
And now we still have "Koi" and "Ai" which the two of them means love but what is the difference((!
I thought they were the same untill I watched this drama (Bara no nai hana) where the male character says in episode 4 while they were talking about the little boy (He can "Koi" but he can't "Ai") or something like that.
(I'm sorry for writing the sentence in English and only adding "Koi" and "Ai" in it.
Thank you so much guys.
by Chokohime  

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 10:27
"Koi" is something you fall into, can't help it, it is more like being infatuated, and "ai" is something you give/do actively.

"Horeru" is "to fall in love" "get infatuated (with someone)," but not a very nice expression - it somehow comes with the connotation of "I fell into love, I can't do anything about it, so I'm going to pursue that girl no matter what, anything goes, right?" kind of helplessness/self-righteousness with it :) I prefer "koi suru" (verb for the noun "koi").
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 11:11
Both ai and koi can be roughly translated as love in English. However, they have a slightly different nuance in Japanese.

Koi is a love for the opposite sex, or a feeling of longing for a specific person. It can be described as romantic love or passionate love. While ai has the same meaning as koi, it also has a definition of a general feeling of love. Koi can be selfish, but ai is a real love. Koi is always wanting. Ai is always giving. Koi is a state in which you grow to like someone romantically and your heart is disordered by many different emotions, whereas ai is when your heart yearns for someone so much that you become miserable, while feeling a great affection towards your partner.
by justmyday rate this post as useful

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 12:51
Oh! I now understood what he meant. Thank you so much guys.
Have a good day!
by Chokohime rate this post as useful

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 18:42
The difference between ''ai'' and ''koi'': The ultimate question that no person will ever be able to give a precise answer to. My answer is that "koi" is what you die for, and "ai" is what you live for ;)
by Uco rate this post as useful

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 20:35
And then there's 恋愛...
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: Difference between "Ai" and "Koi" 2017/4/5 22:27
Thank you everyone for your answers.
by Chokohime rate this post as useful

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