The kanji for love in Japanese is represented by the symbol 愛, which means love and affection. The On-reading of this kanji is "ai". The kanji character for love is a compound character with three parts. In the middle of the kanji stands the ideogram "kokoro," meaning heart. Above the heart stands a hand, and beneath the heart, you find the symbol for following. The kanji character for love is used to express deep love that includes a longing for the other person.