Kanji for Love — 愛

愛 is read ai on its own and covers love in its widest sense: affection for a person, devotion to a craft, care for a place. It is a jōyō kanji taught in the fourth school year, written in 13 strokes, and it shows up in everyday words such as 愛情 (aijō, affection) and 愛犬 (aiken, a beloved dog).

Look at the middle of the character and you will find 心, the heart radical, tucked under a covering hand with a slow, dragging foot below it — the old reading of the shape is someone who cannot bring themselves to walk away. That buried heart is the part beginners lose first when they rush the stroke order.

愛 is not the only word for love. 愛 (ai) is steady and giving, the kind that lasts; 恋 (koi) is romantic longing, the pull toward one particular person. Together they form 恋愛 (ren'ai), romance as a whole. If you mean being in love rather than loving, 恋 sits closer to the feeling.

愛 is also a common given name — read Ai, Mana or Megumi depending on the family — which is why Japanese readers see it as warm and ordinary rather than dramatic.