What Are the 5 Love Languages & What Do They Mean?

The five love languages are acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, and receiving gifts.

Each of these love languages describes a specific way in which people like to give and receive love.

What is Your Love Language?

Here’s a brief definition of each love language type, so you can figure out which one is your primary love language:

1. Acts of Service: You feel most loved when your partner does things to help you out.

2. Words of Affirmation: You feel most loved when your partner says affectionate words to you, gives you compliments, or tells you how much they appreciate you.

3. Quality Time: You feel most loved when you spend long periods of time together as a couple, giving each other your full undivided attention.

4. Physical Touch: You feel most loved when your partner expresses affection for you through physical contact, like hugs, kisses, cuddling, and holding hands.

5. Receiving Gifts: You feel most loved when you receive a thoughtful gift from your partner.

Figuring Out Your Love Language

To find out your love language, think about your past relationships, or even your relationships with friends and family.

Pay attention to what moments have made you feel the most affection, love, emotional safety, and security from others.

Then, see which love language type describes you best.

There’s also an official love language quiz: Go ahead and take the 5 love languages test to get a clearer result that’ll reveal your love language type.

Why the 5 Love Languages Matter

Most people have a primary love language. That means they can identify which one of these five languages makes them feel most loved.

Understanding the five love languages can help you strengthen your relationship by improving your communication and promoting mutual understanding.

Knowing your own love language helps you understand your own needs and communicate your needs to your partner.

Knowing your partner’s love language, meanwhile, helps you understand their needs and how best to make them feel loved and secure.

What Do Each of the 5 Love Languages Mean?

1. Acts of Service

Acts of service are nice things you do for your partner.

Example acts of service include doing some of your partner’s chores for them, running errands for them, or helping them out with school or work.

In the acts of service love language, performing helpful actions for your partner shows them that you care about their well-being and want to make their life more comfortable.

Acts of service have the biggest impact in cultivating feelings of love and appreciation when they come from a place of pure selflessness. That means listening to your partner’s needs, offering genuine support, and finding out what actions you can take to help them out most meaningfully.

Remember, it’s the thought behind the act that counts. Even the smallest actions can make a big impact on making your partner feel valued, loved, and cared for.

Read: 15 Examples of Acts of Service

2. Words of Affirmation

Words of affirmation are verbal expressions of love and appreciation.

Using this love language, you can give love to your partner by saying affectionate words to them, giving them specific and sincere compliments, and directly telling them how much you love and appreciate them.

Words of affirmation can help boost your partner’s self-esteem and make them feel good about themselves.

Affirmations can give a person confidence and make them feel supported, uplifted, appreciated, and valued.

By practicing words of affirmation, you can create a safe and nurturing environment for you and your partner to feel positive about yourselves, enabling your relationship to grow.

Read: 20 Examples of Words of Affirmation

3. Quality Time

Quality time is the meaningful time you spend together as a couple, where you give each other your full attention.

It’s the time when you connect and bond through meaningful conversations, shared activities, creating new memories together, and simply doing things together as a couple.

Being fully engaged and present, without any distractions, shows your partner that you genuinely care for and prioritize their feelings, needs, and preferences. You show them that, in the moments you spend together, they’re more important to you than anything else.

Some ways to spend quality time in a relationship are to set aside regular date nights, do activities you both enjoy, explore new hobbies, reduce distractions by silencing any devices, and truly pay attention when talking to each other.

You can make the most of your quality time by practicing empathy and active listening in order to understanding each other’s emotions and perspectives best.

Read: 14 Examples of Quality Time

4. Physical Touch

Physical touch as a love language includes connecting through any form of physical contact, whether it’s hugging, holding hands, or cuddling.

Touch is an important part of most intimate relationships, and a distinctive one too. Usually, people touch their partner in ways they wouldn’t touch a friend or family member, and this helps create a unique sense of intimacy.

Affectionate touch and contact can help communicate love and appreciation between partners by causing the brain to release oxytocin, which is a hormone that creates a deeper emotional connection between people.

With consent and open communication, engaging in physical touch not only strengthens your bond as a couple but also promotes emotional and physical well-being for each partner.

5. Receiving Gifts

Receiving gifts is about giving and receiving tangible presents as symbols of love.

What’s important to clarify here is that gifts need not be expensive or extravagant. In this love language, it’s more about the thought behind giving the gift, rather than the gift itself.

Gift-giving can be as simple as leaving your partner a love note, picking up their favorite snack from the store, or getting them flowers.

A small present, or even a homemade token, can go a long way in making someone feel loved and cherished.

A thoughtful gift will show your partner that you value them, understand them, care about their needs and interests, and have thought about what they might enjoy.

Specific Examples of Each Love Language

Acts of Service: Anything to ease your partner’s to-do list, such as cooking, cleaning, or running errands for them.

Words of Affirmation: Compliments, verbal encouragement, uplifting statements, expressing gratitude, and offering any sort of kind and affectionate words to your partner.

Quality Time: Engaging in meaningful conversations, spending time together without distractions, and doing activities that both of you enjoy.

Physical Touch: Hugging, holding hands, cuddling, and other forms of physically intimate contact to express love and create closeness.

Receiving Gifts: Thoughtful and meaningful presents that show love, appreciation, and understanding, regardless of how much they cost.

Resources to Learn More

If you’re interested in exploring the 5 love languages further, here are resources to check out.

Love languages started with an author, Dr. Gary Chapman, who laid out the five love languages and introduced this concept to the public through his book, “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts.” You can check out his book to learn more about his perspective.

For additional insights, consider visiting the 5 love languages website for free resources, including podcasts and bonus materials, to learn more about what the love languages mean and how to use them.

If you prefer a more interactive approach, consider attending workshops and events on love languages. These events often focus on applying the 5 love languages in real-life scenarios, enabling you to practice and refine your communication skills. Stay updated by regularly checking the official website for news on upcoming events and opportunities.

Bonus Tips: How to Speak Each Love Language Through Virtual Communication

When so much of our lives and relationships happen online, it’s important to understand how to use each love language through virtual communication.

Give Words of Affirmation Through Texts and Tags

For people who value words of affirmation, it’s super convenient to give and receive this love language online.

Text messages, social media posts and DMs, emails, and thoughtful memes and GIFs can be great ways to convey affection and appreciation.

The key is intentionality. Your communications should be thoughtful and personalized to convey deeper meaning.

Spend Quality Time Through Virtual Togetherness

Quality time can be challenging to figure out when you and your partner aren’t together in person.

Some creative ways to spend quality time digitally include video calls, watching a movie together through a streaming service’s watch party feature, playing an online game together, or taking a virtual class together.

Spending quality time together when you’re not physically together is still about sharing experiences and giving each other undivided attention.

Give and Receive Gifts Through Digital Tokens of Affection

The act of giving gifts as a love language has gone wild since the advent of digital gifting.

Sending e-gift cards, online subscriptions, or even digital artworks are great ways to show you’re thinking of someone.

For a more personal touch, curating a playlist or creating a photo album online can be loving gestures.

Perform Acts of Service Through Digital Assistance

Acts of service in the digital realm require creativity and some tech-savviness.

If you can help troubleshoot a computer issue remotely, assist with online research for a project, or organize digital files, those are prime service examples.

If you’re less tech-savvy, then think about how you can schedule deliveries for your loved one. Think about spontaneous acts of kindness, such as ordering food delivery for a partner who’s had a tough day.

Simulate Physical Touch Through Items and Words

Physical touch is undoubtedly the most challenging love language to fulfill digitally, as it requires partners to be together in person, by definition.

But even here, technology offers solutions.

While nothing can truly replace the warmth of a human embrace, having a physical reminder can be comforting.

Mailing a wearable item like a bracelet or a shirt to your partner, investing in interactive gadgets like lamps that light up with a touch from either person, or even planning for a future touch (like a trip or a date) can keep the connection tangible.

Plus, you can simulate feelings of touch through talking about touch. For example, talking about cuddling or describing what you would do if you were together can invoke the emotional response associated with physical touch.

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