Types of Love

• Agape - the term was used by the early Christians (Greek to be specific, as the word is of Greek origin) to refer to the special love for God and God's love for humanity

• Courtly love – a late medieval conventionalized code prescribing certain conduct and emotions for ladies and their lovers

• Erotic love (eros) – affection characterized by sexual desires

• Familial love – affection brokered through kinship connections, intertwined with concepts of attachment and bonding

• Free love – sexual relations according to choice and unrestricted by marriage

• Philia - used in the New Testament, philia is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love"

• Platonic love – a close relationship in which sexual desire is non-existent or has been suppressed or sublimated

• Puppy love – romantic affection that is not "mature" or not "true." The term is often used with negative connotations, insinuating that love between youngsters is less genuine or valuable

• Religious love – devotion to one's deity or theology

• Romantic love – affection characterized by a mix of emotional intimacy and sexual desire

• True love – love without condition, motive or attachment. Loving someone just because they are themselves, not their actions or beliefs in particular. Also referred to as unconditional love.

• Unrequited love – affection and desire not reciprocated or returned

• Lust-love - affection characterized by lust, caring about the desired one for a short amount of time, in other words, semi-true love

• Instantaneous love - Love that occours the instant that one person comes in contact with another and feels a deep connection or attraction to the other. Also known as "love at first sight" and refered to commonly in many fairy tales and folk lore and literature.

• Sacrificial love - the act of sacrificing one's life, or something of great importance, solely on the basis of love.

Traditional Chinese character for love (愛) consists of a heart (middle)

inside of "accept", "feel", or "perceive", which shows a graceful emotion

a graceful emotion