Chinese

In contemporary Chinese language and culture, several terms or root words are used for the concept of love:

* Ai () is used as a verb (e.g. Wo ai ni, I love you) or as a noun, especially in aiqing (), love or romance. In mainland China since 1949, airen (, originally lover, or more literally, love person) is the dominant word for spouse (with separate terms for wife and husband originally being de-emphasized); the word once had a negative connotation, which it retains among many on Taiwan.

* Lian () is not generally used alone, but instead as part of such terms as being in love (, tan lian'aialso containing ai), lover (, lianren) or hmos*xuality (, tongxinglian).

* Qing (), commonly meaning feeling or emotion, often indicates love in several terms. It is contained in the word aiqing (); qingren () is a term for lover.

In Confucianism, lian is a virtuous benevolent love. Lian should be pursued by all human beings, and reflects a moral life. The Chinese philosopher Mozi developed the concept of ai () in reaction to Confucian lian. Ai, in Mohism, is universal love towards all beings, not just towards friends or family, without regard to reciprocation. Extravagance and offensive war are inimical to ai. Although Mozi's thought was influential, the Confucian lian is how most Chinese conceive of love.

Gnqng (), the feeling of a relationship. A person will express love by building good gnqng, accomplished through helping or working for another. Emotional attachment toward another person or anything.

Yuanfen () is a connection of bound destinies. A meaningful relationship is often conceived of as dependent strong yuanfen. It is very similar to serendipity. A similar conceptualization in English is, They were made for each other, fate, or destiny.

Zaolian (Simplified: , Traditional: , pinyin: zolin), literally, early love, is a contemporary term in frequent use for romantic feelings or attachments among children or adolescents. Zaolian describes both relationships among a teenaged boyfriend and girlfriend, as well as the crushes of early adolescence or childhood. The concept essentially indicates a prevalent belief in contemporary Chinese culture that due to the demands of their studies (especially true in the highly competitive educational system of China), youth should not form romantic attachments lest their jeopardize their chances for success in the future. Reports have appeared in Chinese newspapers and other media detailing the prevalence of the phenomenon and its perceived dangers to students and the fears of parents.