There are five different primary love languages that people use: physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, giving/receiving gifts, and acts of service. Being aware of what your love language is and knowing other people’s love languages helps to form deeper connections and relationships with your loved ones. Love languages can be used in both romantic and platonic situations, and they are a great way to feel loved and love others. Your love language may be different from that of the person you care about, so it’s important to acknowledge what someone else’s love language is in order to properly show them that you care.
1. Physical Touch
If someone’s love language is physical touch, you can hug them, hold their hand, give them kisses, cuddle, etc., depending on the type of relationship that you have. Just make sure they are okay with it, and you aren’t breaking any boundaries—just because someone enjoys physical touch doesn’t mean they will always want it.
2. Words of Affirmation
There are lots of ways that you can use words of affirmation to show someone you care about them. If you want to go all out, you could occasionally text them paragraphs about how much they mean to you. If you prefer taking smaller actions, you could use small phrases such as saying: “I love you,” “You’re special to me,” “I’m here if you need me,” and more. Knowing what someone needs to hear during certain situations is helpful as well.
3. Quality Time
This one’s pretty straightforward. Using your free time and opening up your schedule to hang out with someone once in a while can do wonders for your relationship. This isn’t to say that you should always be dropping everything to spend time with them, but that you should make time for them.
4. Giving/Receiving Gifts
You don’t only have to give people gifts on special occasions. If you’re out shopping and see something that reminds you of someone, or something that they would like, it would mean a lot to them if you went out of your way to buy it. Whether it’s big or small, the simple act of giving the gift is what matters.
5. Acts of Service
Doing something that your friend or partner would like, such as taking their car to get gas when they don’t have time to, cooking for them, or helping them with their homework, are all acts of service.