What is Love?

We, as a society, are obsessed with love. Love is everything, and is connected to the meaning of life, yet how do we define it? Places all over the world have different descriptions for it. Even in languages there are different meanings for the simple word.

According to Google, love is an intense feeling of deep affection or is when you feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment. With this broad definition, it’s no wonder that so many people are confused about what love is. The Greeks have several different types of love that help define the feeling. According to Psychology Today these types of love are:

Eros – Sexual love
Philia – Friendship love
Storge – Family love
Agape – Universal love
Ludus – Playful/Uncommitted love
Pragma – Practical love
Philautia – Self love

In the Spanish language there are also two types of love. You can either say “teamo” or “tequiero” both say, “I love you”, however they hold different meanings. According to English to Spanish Raleigh, a translation service, “tequiero” would be a love that you have for your best friend. “Teamo” would be appropriate to use towards your spouse or family.

Across the world in different languages we try to describe love in many ways. We say, “I love you” in thousands of ways. Our obsession with finding love has driven us to do incredible things. With all of us looking for love, it’s crazy to think that every person’s love is completely different from one another.