The Difference Between 愛 and 恋

There are hundreds of books that explain the difference between 愛 and 恋, both of which can be translated as “love.” I will explain it from the grammatical point of view.

Both 愛 and 恋 have their verbal form 愛する (to love) and 恋する (to love) but the preceding particles differ as follows:

ひろしは奈緒美を愛している。 Hiroshi loves Naomi.
ひろしは奈緒美に恋している。 Hiroshi loves Naomi.

愛する requires the object particle を, whereas 恋する requires the direction particle に, which implies the action 愛する can have a substantial influence to the object person and the action 恋する can merely be a one way adoration. We have the verb phrase 愛し合う (to love each other), but not 恋し合う.

We use both 愛 and 恋 in poems to express “love”, but “love” in the Bible must be translated as 愛.

Japanese Version
http://meadowlake001.blogspot.jp/2015/03/the-difference-between-and-japanese_5.html

Tips on Japanese (Website)
http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~meadowlake/nouns.html