Did you know?: The difference between like and love in Japanese

For this week’s edition, I turned to Tofugu for their take on like vs. love in Japan: The concept of “like” and “love” in Japanese may be a little difficult for you to gauge because the word “suki” could mean both/either “like” or “love.”

More simply, aishiteru has a completely different weight to it than the words suki or even daisuki (really like). In many ways, it holds more gravity than when English speakers say “I love you” because people can “love” donuts or movies or even use it the hashtag #love to describe a picture of something they took on their phones. Aishiteru, however, is used for only one purpose. Aishiteru is when the words aren’t just said, but felt as well.