Different Words for Love

Humans can feel a lot of emotions, one of the most profound being love. There is a myriad of words that can be used to describe love—in many languages. People feel the words differently, and there certainly isn't a right or wrong way to feel each word. I wanted to explore some of the expressions in first English, then Japanese. I would also throw in Spanish, but maybe once I consult the expert in my life.

English:

Like - This is so broad and can be used for everything from a crush to someone whose company you really appreciate.

Love - This is stronger, but it's thrown around so much that it loses its meaning a bit, in my opinion. That doesn't mean it isn't a beautiful and strong emotion—it's just common. 

Falling - This is exclusively for romantic love; you fall for someone when you have all the butterflies and they don't leave your thoughts. 

Falling in love - This is the real deal. This is the level of "I'm going to marry this person". Falling in love is hard to describe, you only know that it's happening when you can't describe the feeling in any other way. You're walking on clouds, everything is rosy and bright, and everything else fades to the background. 

Being in love - This is when things get comfortable yet remain beautiful. The feelings have blossomed and continue to bloom, perhaps growing or staying the same. 

Adoration - I had never really thought about this one until I started saying it to someone. There's something powerful about adoration. It's past love. It's deeper, and it has the feeling of there being history, as if love is no longer sufficient to convey those feelings. Adoration is when you really feel it in your body. It's not just butterflies but this warmth that you only feel with that person. You don't just say "I adore you" to anyone. You can talk about someone and say you adore them, but there's a huge difference when it's romantic. You can tell your best friends you adore them—that means they're an incredibly special person in your life. Telling your significant other means you're past loving them. "Love" is not enough. You adore them. 

Japanese:

好き (suki) - This is when you like the person. No big deal. 

大好き (daisuki) - This is when you big like the person—literally. It has the same strength as love, but when you add in a bunch of extra words to emphasize how much you love the person, it can get pretty strong. 

恋 (koi) - This is love. Deeper than "love" in English, but it's love. One way to differentiate it from 愛 (ai) is to see when things are calm. When things are exciting, thrilling, and maybe even scary, it's probably more like 恋 (koi). You can feel both for someone, but that's one way I think about the difference. (Consider the word 恋人 (koibito) which translates to "lovers". You can love your "lover" and also adore them.)

愛 (ai) - This is one of the deepest words for love, in my opinion. You don't just say this to someone unless you are absolutely, irrevocably in love with them. This is something that happens years into the relationship because it needs that time to build. It's past being in love and even past adoration, in my opinion. 

This is what I feel about these words—I'm sure some people would disagree, but this is my interpretation. I would like to write one on Spanish words, but I'm not the expert...perhaps a collaborative project will come soon.