爱人
爱love人person=spouse or loved one
In mainland Chinese, 爱人 commonly means one’s spouse.
爱
爱 (ài) Chinese Character: to love, love
Traditional 愛 carries a heart 心 — love comes from the heart.
Practice 爱 in the interactive lessonChinese character story: The Heart Inside “Love”
爱 (ài) means “love.” It is the simplified form of 愛, whose traditional shape contains 心, “heart.” The simplified character no longer shows the full heart, but the meaning remains. Use 爱 for people and things you truly like: 我爱家人, “I love my family,” or 我爱学习中文, “I love learning Chinese.”
🧩 Word buildingSee what every part contributes
Chinese words often combine short meaning clues. Fixed expressions are clearly marked so you do not translate them too literally.
可爱
可can or worthy of爱love=cute or lovable
可爱 is a fixed adjective.
Chinese character origin and etymology
爱 is documented as a character built from meaningful or phonetic parts. Its earlier written forms gradually became the regular-script shape used today.
In modern simplified Chinese, 爱 is written with 10 strokes. This lesson separates documented shape history from the memory story so learners do not mistake a mnemonic for a historical claim. 爱 contains 爫 and 友. These parts act like clues: a component may suggest a meaning category, a pronunciation, or simply preserve part of the character's historical structure.
Chinese character stroke order and structure
爱 is written with 10 strokes. Learn the complete stroke sequence in the interactive lesson, then write the character from memory before checking your answer.
- 爫 — upper hand-like component
- 友 — friend-like lower structure in the simplified character
Common usage and sentence patterns
The examples below show 爱 in complete beginner-friendly sentences. Read each sentence aloud, notice where the character appears, and then replace one noun or number to create a new sentence of your own.
我爱我的家人。
I love my family.
她爱看书。
She loves reading.
我们都爱学习中文。
We all love learning Chinese.
Learning tips for 爱
Learn the reading as one unit: ài, with the fourth tone: a sharp fall. Avoid memorizing the letters without the tone mark. Say the syllable, recall the English meaning “to love, love,” and write the 10 strokes from memory.
Because 爱 contains reusable components, identify those clues before memorizing the whole shape. Compare it with 心 (xīn, heart — visible in traditional 愛); 友 (yǒu, friend — appears in the simplified lower shape); 好 (hǎo, good, like). Similar characters are easier to remember when their different parts and meanings are studied side by side.
Quick review checklist
- Can you recognize 爱 without pinyin?
- Can you say ài with the correct tone and explain “to love, love”?
- Can you write all 10 strokes in order?
- Can you use 爱 in one short sentence?
Related characters
Learn 爱 in a themed collection
Compare this character with related beginner words. A themed path helps you notice useful pairs, word-building patterns, and everyday contexts.
Continue learning Chinese characters
Use the Chinese radicals and components guide to understand reusable parts, the stroke order guide to improve handwriting, and the HSK 1 character overview to choose your next beginner lesson.
Sources and editorial note
HanziStory separates documented character history from modern memory stories. Historical-form images are shown only when a matching source file is available; missing stages are skipped rather than invented. Stroke practice uses HanziWriter data.
Last updated: August 12, 2026. Read our sources, editorial method, and correction policy.