愛してる
Japanese
 | This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness. For other Japanese entries on this topic, see Love. |
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 愛 |
| あい Grade: 4 |
| on’yomi |
Etymology
A phrase forming a complete sentence, consisting of 愛 (ai, “love”) + して (shite, conjunctive form of verb する suru, “to do”) + いる (iru, “to be, to be doing something”). The shite iru contracts in informal speech into shiteru.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [a̠i ɕite̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]
Usage notes
This literally just means “[someone] loves [someone]”, with the two “someones” (grammatical subject and object) understood from context.
Although common in popular media such as anime or J-pop, this expression is considered very intense in real life and is usually reserved for serious situations such as when making a marriage proposal, or telling a family member while on your death bed that the speaker loves them. A way to express these feelings in a less intense, i.e. romantic, manner would be to use 好きだよ (suki da yo) or 大好きだよ (daisuki da yo) which respectively mean to like/to really like someone.