爱 (ài) is a Chinese character meaning “to love”. It is written from 爫 (claw; a hand reaching down from above) and 冖 (cover) and 友 (friend), and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “love”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
爫 + 冖 + 友
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS decomposition of the modern glyph (⿳爫冖友), cross-checked against hanzi-writer stroke data (4+2+4=10)
Memory aid
A hand (爫) reaches down and pulls a cover (冖) over a friend (友), tucking them in. Caring for someone like that is love.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 爱好ài hàohobby; to be keen on爱 = àiHSK 3
- 仁爱rén àibenevolence; kindheartedness爱 = ài
- 宠爱chǒng àito dote on爱 = ài
- 恋爱liàn àito be in love; romantic love爱 = ài
Go deeper
All readings
love
to love; affection; to be fond of; to tend to
对人或事物有很深的感情；喜欢；也表示容易发生某种情况。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 爱好ài hàohobby; to be keen on爱 = àiHSK 3
- 仁爱rén àibenevolence; kindheartedness爱 = ài
- 宠爱chǒng àito dote on爱 = ài
- 恋爱liàn àito be in love; romantic love爱 = ài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 爱 mean?
爱 (ài) means to love; affection; to be fond of; to tend to.
How do you pronounce 爱?
It is pronounced ài.
What parts is 爱 made of?
爫 (claw; a hand reaching down from above) and 冖 (cover) and 友 (friend). The recorded source is: IDS decomposition of the modern glyph (⿳爫冖友), cross-checked against hanzi-writer stroke data (4+2+4=10). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 爱 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 爱?
爪. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 爱?
Common ones are 爱好, 仁爱, 宠爱. The reading of 爱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.