28 Jan 2023 | 4 mins
Overview
  • Do you know what your love language is?
  • Here's a brief explainer of the five styles of love and the type of people who fit each category.

Have you heard the term 'love language' being thrown around a bit? Possibly not, because it’s important stuff like this that they leave out of the PE curriculum. 

Put simply, love languages are the ways that different people give and receive love. There are five different categories: quality time, words of affirmation, physical touch, gifts and acts of service. 

While most people have one love language that they indentify with the strongest, most people relate to all of them in different amounts, even if it is just a small percentage. So we're all basically pentalingual when it comes to love, everyone's just a little bit more fluent in one or two languages.

Love languages don’t only apply to romantic relationships, but they are also the key to understanding relo's between friends and family too. 

So let’s break each one down and explain what it means. 

Quality Time

If having a great time with people you love is the thing that makes you feel the most connected, quality time is likely to be your love language. You’ll feel most loved when you’re prioritised by your partner or your friends, and thrive off undivided attention.


Physical Touch

As you probably guessed from the name, this is the Selena Gomez - 'Can't Keep My Hands To Myself' type love language. While this usually includes physical intimacy and sex, other forms of physical connection like holding hands and cuddling on the couch are just as important.


Words of Affirmation

If you thrive off reassurance and love to hear people say nice things about you, you possibly lean towards words of affirmation as your love language. You probably place value on people apologising when they’ve done something you didn’t like, or putting extra effort in when they’re texting you.
 

Acts of Service

Do you get all warm and fuzzy when someone runs your errands without you asking them to? Or love the idea of coming home after a long day and having dinner already made for you by your housemate or significant other? High chance your love language is acts of service, and you're a big fan of other people taking time out of their day to make your own life easier, or more enjoyable.


Gifts

Everyone would be lying if they said they don’t love a gift every now and then. But if you really appreciate pressies, it might just be your love language. It’s easy to assume that anyone with a gift love language are a tad greedy, but that’s not the case at all. They’re actually super generous and get a kick out of giving gifts to the people they love. So this is a love language to wear with pride. 

 

If you've read through the different styles of love and none of them are sticking out to you, there are plenty of love language quizzes online that are pretty accurate. Once you've found yours, check in with your partner or your mates to see how you can make them feel appreciated and well-connected with you.