爱 ài love; affection; to be fond of
Made up of [爫 zhuǎ claw radical 87, 冖 mì cover; crown radical 14, 友 yǒu friend ]Alternative traditional form of character: 愛
Made with 10 strokes.
Originally comprised 'breath' and 'heart' combined with gracious movement. The simplified form replaces 'heart' with two 'hand's so suggests close friendship rather than love
Ancient small seal form 
Related characters
Also uses 爫 zhuǎ component: 孚 fú (to trust) 受 shòu (to receive)
Also uses 冖 mì component: 劳 láo (to toil) 每 měi (each) ; 蒙 měng (Mongol) ; 免 miǎn (to escape) ; 农 nóng (to farm) ; 写 xiě (write)
Different tone
矮 ǎi (low)Pronunciation
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Proverbs
爱不释手 ài bù shì shǒu Locked in love's clutches爱屋及乌 ài wū jí wū In love with everything in the world
萝卜白菜,各有所爱 luó bo bái cài, gè yǒu suǒ ài Everyone has their own preferences
生活有爱幸福,为爱生活愚蠢 shēng huó yǒu ài xìngfú, wèi ài shēng huó yú chǔn Love is not the most important thing
舐犊之爱 shì dú zhī ài An example of parental love and devotion. A biased assessment due to family ties - caring for one's own relatives
世上没有无缘无故的爱，也没有无缘无故的恨 shì shàng méi yǒu wú yuán wú gù de ài, yě méi yǒu wú yuán wú gù de hèn There is a reason behind all strong emotions