爱
Tap the pinyin to hear it
to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen)
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How to remember it
love · Heisig RSH #669
birdhouse + 友 friend
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 爱
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 爱好 | to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby | |
| 中国天主教爱国会 | Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association | |
| 三自爱国教会 | Three-Self Patriotic Movement, PRC government-sanctioned Protestant church from 1949 | |
| 爱理不理 | (idiom) standoffish; indifferent | |
| 爱克斯光 | X-ray (loanword); Röntgen or Roentgen ray | |
| 爱面子 | to like to look good in the eyes of others; sensitive about how one is regarded by others;… | |
| 爱国主义 | patriotism | |
| 爱国如家 | to love one's country as one's own family (praise for a virtuous ruler) | |
| 爱尔兰人 | Irish person | |
| 人见人爱 | loved by all; to have universal appeal | |
| 爱尔兰海 | Irish Sea between Ireland and north England | |
| 爱民区 | Aimin, a district of Mudanjiang City 牡丹江市[Mu3 dan1 jiang1 Shi4], Heilongjiang | |
| 爱国者 | MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile | |
| 爱国者 | patriot | |
| 爱民如子 | (idiom) to love the common people as one's own children (praise for a virtuous ruler) | |
| 爱尔兰语 | Irish language | |
| 爱子 | beloved son | |
| 小可爱 | cutie; sweetie; (Tw) camisole (women's garment) | |
| 爱人 | spouse (PRC); lover (non-PRC); CL:個|个[ge4] | |
| 爱国 | to love one's country; patriotic |
Sound family
These characters use 爱 as their sound component — compare how they read.