The Meaning of Love Language: What It Is and How To Use It

What are the five love languages? This article will cover the meaning of love languages and how to incorporate them into your relationships.

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

Have you ever taken the five love languages test? Do you know your primary love language? This article will cover each of the five love languages and how to use them to deepen your relationship with your family or partner. So, keep reading to learn all about love languages!

What Does the Term Love Language Mean?

According to Very Well Mind, a love language is how a person expresses and receives love either in a relationship, from a family member, or from a friend. There are five specific love languages, and people usually have one or two top love languages. By knowing someone’s love language, you can understand what actions make them feel the most loved.

People often have a primary love language and a secondary love language. While any kind act can make a loved one feel appreciated, knowing your love language and your loved one or partner’s love language can help strengthen your relationship and understand their emotional needs.

What Are the Five Love Languages?

According to Psychology Today, there are five distinct love languages that people want to receive. You can find your love language by taking the official love languages quiz. 

The five love languages are acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time, gift-giving, and physical touch. Below, we will examine each of these love languages and actions you can take to help a person feel loved in their preferred love language. 

Physical Touch

The first love language we will cover is physical touch. Some people feel most loved when they have a physical connection with their partner. Physical touch doesn’t always have to mean having sex or kissing. Physical touch also includes holding hands, making eye contact, hugging, cuddling, and other forms of physical intimacy. 

If your love language is physical touch, you may feel like you need a hug after a bad day or cuddle up with your partner. You might feel loved if your partner holds your hand in public or places a comforting hand around your waist. 

Gift Giving

For some, receiving gifts makes them feel loved. People who appreciate gift-giving are not greedy or materialistic– receiving a small, thoughtful gift makes them feel loved because the person who is giving the gift saw something that made them think of the recipient.

If your love language is gift-giving, you might also get excited to give gifts to other people. It doesn’t matter if it’s their favorite candy bar from a convenience store or an expensive token of affection; people who have the gift-giving love language enjoy knowing that a partner thinks of them throughout the day.

Quality Time

Many people need quality time with their partners to feel loved. If you live in a busy or chaotic environment where there are always people around, it may feel important to find moments of quality time together.

People who have the quality time love language love spending time together with undivided attention. One great way to incorporate quality time is by holding a standing date night with just the two of you.

Words of Affirmation

Some people need to hear words to feel loved. Saying “I love you,” complimenting them, sending nice texts or voice messages, and leaving love notes can make words of affirmation types feel cared for

Acts of Service

For acts of service, the little things from a significant other matter. For example, helping with errands or wellness tasks can make these people feel loved. You can fill up their gas tank, do a load of laundry, and do other chores or activities to alleviate stress.

What Is the History of Love Languages?

Dr. Gary Chapman developed the concept of love languages. After spending numerous decades as a family and marriage counselor, Dr. Chapman began to recognize a pattern in the partners’ complaints and felt like he heard similar complaints from many couples about what they felt they were lacking in their relationships. 

When he began to compare his notes, he synthesized what partners wanted from each other into five categories, which became the five love languages. He wrote the book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, which he published in 1992. Chapman’s book is still successful today.

What Are Translations of Love Language?

Nice Translator lists ways to say “love language” in many languages:

  • Kannada: ಪ್ರೀತಿ ಭಾಷೆ
  • Filipino: Pag-ibig ng wika
  • Lithuanian: Meilės kalba
  • Ukrainian: любов
  • Dutch: liefdestaal
  • Malay: bahasa cinta
  • Japanese: 愛言語
  • Basque: maite hizkuntza
  • Slovak: jazyk lásky
  • Italian: Lingua di amore
  • Thai: ภาษารัก
  • Tamil: காதல் மொழி
  • Swahili: upendo lugha
  • Latvian: mīlestības valoda
  • Gujarati: પ્રેમ ભાષા
  • Icelandic: Ást tungumál
  • Bulgarian: Любовен език
  • Norwegian: kjærlighetsspråk
  • Russian: Язык любви
  • Croatian: Ljubav jezik
  • Polish: Język miłości
  • Romanian: Love Limba
  • Catalan: Idioma d’amor
  • Welsh: cariad iaith
  • Hindi: प्रेम भाषा
  • Slovenian: ljubezenski jezik
  • Arabic: لغة الحب
  • Korean: 사랑 언어
  • Swedish: kärleksspråk
  • Chinese (PRC): 爱语言
  • Hebrew: אהבה שפה
  • French: langue d’amour
  • Estonian: Armastuse keel
  • Greek: γλώσσα αγάπης
  • Serbian: љубавни језик
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Língua de amor
  • Danish: kærlighed sprog
  • Turkish: sevgi dili
  • Malayalam: ലവ് ഭാഷ
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 愛語言
  • Hungarian: szerelmi nyelv
  • Portuguese (Portugal): Língua de amor
  • Vietnamese: ngôn ngữ tình yêu
  • Finnish: rakkauskieli
  • Amharic: ፍቅር
  • German: Liebessprache
  • Telugu: భాష లవ్
  • Bengali: প্রেম ভাষা
  • Urdu: محبت زبان
  • Spanish: lenguaje de amor
  • Marathi: प्रेम भाषा

Conclusion

The five different love languages are physical touch, gift giving, quality time, acts of service, and words of affirmation. While people may feel loved by any one of these love languages, it is important to know which matters most to your partner so that you can make sure you show love in a way that is personally meaningful to them. 

What is your primary way to express love? Does it differ from your partner’s expressions of love?

Sources:

  1. What Are the 5 Love Languages? Definition and Examples | Psychology Today
  2. What Are the Five Love Languages? | Very Well Mind  
  3. Love Language | Nice Translator