This week we are venturing into N3 level kanji and the first one is 愛. Once I heard somebody say 愛は心にノをつけて受けいれること (Love is to accept one’s heart with (the katanana) ノ) and I think that is really true.
かなしい。I’m sad.
かなしいの？Are you sad?
さみしい。I’m lonely.
さみしいの？Are you lonely?
Adding の？ and asking back is a great way of validating what you have just heard, which is one way of showing your “love” – that you care.
～の is a casual variation of ～んです, about which I will talk about next Monday.
愛 is listed under the radical of 心 and there seem to be a few different theories how this character was developed.
meaning: love
reading: アイ
愛（アイ）: love, affection
愛好（アイコウ）する: to love, to be fond of, to have a liking for, to enjoy
愛国心（アイコクシン）: patriotism, patriotic feelings
愛称（アイショウ）: a nickname, a pet name
愛情（アイジョウ）: love, affecton, attachement, devotion
愛人（アイジン）: a lover, a woman’s lover, a man’s mistress
愛用（アイヨウ）する: to use … regularly, to make habitual use of…
割愛（カツアイ）する: to omit, to drop (the details), to leave out
恋愛、（レンアイ）: love, tender passion, amour, romantic attachment
<difficult reading>
愛娘（まなむすめ）: one’s beloved daughter
