It’s time for our daily Japanese vocabulary! It’s important to study a little bit every day, so let’s work hard to remember one new word every single day.
Today’s word is… koi!
Note: the photo is from chapter 1, volume 1 of Kurosaki-kun wa Dokusen Shitagaru
What does koi mean?
Koi is a noun in Japanese that means love! There is a slight nuance in its kanji that’s a little bit more lustful than other words that can be translated as love in Japanese.
The Kanji, it’s meaning, and it’s reading in hiragana
We can use the following Kanji character to write koi: 恋.
If we want to break down the kanji, we can see that it has 赤 (red) on the top, and 心 (heart) on the bottom.
We can write “koi” using hiragana like this: こい.
Let’s try using こい・恋・koi in a sentence!
Example 1
English: That my first love would end like this…
Romaji only: Watashi no hatsukoi wa konna kanji de owaru nante…
Hiragana only: わたし の はつこい は こんな かんじ で おわる なんて。。。
Final: 私の初恋はこんな感じで終わるなんて。。。
Example 2
English: He taught me the meaning of love.
Romaji only: Kare ni koi no imi o oshiete kureta.
Hiragana only: かれ に こい の いみ を おしえて くれた。
Final: 彼に恋の意味を教えてくれた。
Example 3
English: I have no intention of hiding my romantic feelings.
Romaji only: Watashi no koigokoro o kakusu tsumori ga nai wa yo.
Hiragana only: わたし の こいごころ を かくす つもり が ない よ。
Final: 私の恋心を隠すつもりがないわよ。
Example 4
English: That love could be this painful,,, I didn’t know.
Romaji only: Koi wa konnani setsunai mono datte, shiranakatta.
Hiragana only: こい は こんなに せつない もの だって、しらなかった。
Final: 恋はこんなに切ないものだって、知らなかった。
Example 5
English: That I fell in love with him, it’s just too embarrassing.
Romaji only: Kare ni koi ni ochita nante, hazukashisugiru.
Hiragana only: かれ に こい に おちた なんて、はずかしすぎる。
Final: 彼に恋に落ちたなんて、恥ずかしすぎる。
Was my post helpful? I hope you learnt something! If you want to support me so that I can continue to share my love of all things shoujo, you can always buy me a coffee!
Maddies Manga 
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