The love languages describe five ways that people receive and express love in a relationship.
Knowing your partner’s love language and letting them know yours can help you both feel loved and appreciated.
Nearly everyone wants to show their partner that they care about them. Yet many people struggle to do it in a way that speaks to their loved one’s heart.
If you find that this describes your situation, you may want to learn more about the five love languages.
What Are the Five Love Languages?
The five love languages that people may respond to:
Words of affirmation
Quality time
Physical touch
Acts of service
Receiving gifts
Words of Affirmation
Words of affirmation is about expressing affection through spoken words, praise, or appreciation.
When this is someone’s primary love language, they enjoy kind words and encouragement as well as uplifting quotes, love notes, and cute text messages.
You can make this person’s day by complimenting them or pointing out what they do well.
Quality Time
Love and affection are expressed for someone with this love language through undivided attention.
The person feels loved if you are present and focused on them.
This means putting down the cell phone, turning off the tablet, making eye contact, and actively listening.
Affirm what the other person is saying and refrain from offering advice.
People with this love language are looking for quality over quantity.
Physical Touch
A person with physical touch as their primary love language feels loved through physical affection.
Aside from sex, they feel loved when their partner holds their hand, touches their arm, or gives them a massage at the end of the day, for example.
This person’s idea of a perfect date might include cuddling on the couch with a glass of wine and a good movie.
They simply want to be close to their partner physically.
Acts of Service
For acts of service, a person feels loved and appreciated when someone does nice things for them, such as:
Helping with the dishes
Running errands
Vacuuming
Putting gas in the car
They love when people do little things for them and often can be found doing these acts of service for others.
Receiving Gifts
Gift-giving is symbolic of love and affection for someone with this love language.
They treasure not only the gift itself but also the time and effort the gift-giver put into it.
People with receiving gifts as their primary love language also do not necessarily expect large or expensive gifts; it’s more what is behind the gift that appeals to them.
In other words, when you take the time to pick out a gift specifically for them, it tells them you really know them.
People with this love language can often remember every little gift they have received from their loved ones because it makes such an impact on them.
Identify Your Love Language
If or when you’re in a relationship, do you feel more loved when your partner:
Tells you, “I love you,” or praises something you did?
Surprises you with a meaningful gift?
Goes on a trip with just you?
Runs the errands or does the laundry?
Holds your hand while you’re walking?
It’s unlikely your partner’s love language is the same as yours. When couples have different primary languages, there are bound to be misunderstandings.
However, if your partner learns to speak your love language, they often feel loved and appreciated and ultimately happier in the relationship.
How Love Languages Benefit Relationships
We all express and receive love differently.
Consequently, understanding those differences can make a serious impact on your relationship.
Knowing your partner’s love language is one of the simplest ways to improve your relationship. Here are some other ways it could be beneficial.
Promotes Selflessness
When you are committed to learning someone else’s love language, you are focused on their needs rather than your own.
Couples should work to learn their partner’s love language rather than trying to convince their partner to learn theirs.
Ideally, both people will want to express love in a way that is meaningful to the other.
The entire purpose of exploring your love languages together is to learn how to love your partner in a way that is meaningful to them.
Creates Empathy
As someone learns more about how their partner experiences love, they learn to empathize with that person.
It helps them step outside of themselves for a moment and take a look at what makes another person feel significant and loved.
Consequently, when couples are committed to learning and utilizing the love languages, they increase their emotional intelligence and learn how to put someone else’s needs above their own.
Instead of speaking their own love language to their partner, they learn how to speak in a language that their partner understands.
Maintains Intimacy
If couples regularly talk about what keeps their love tanks full, this creates more understanding—and ultimately intimacy—in their relationship.
They not only learn more about one another, but they also connect in deeper and more meaningful ways.
When this happens, their relationship begins to feel more intimate.
Aids Personal Growth
When someone is focused on something or someone outside of themselves, it can lead to personal growth.
Too often people are encouraged and incentivized to be self-absorbed and unaware of anyone or anything outside of themselves.
Learning love languages require people to love others in ways that may be outside their comfort zone.
So they are forced to grow and change.
Shares Love in Meaningful Ways
When couples start speaking one another’s love language, the things they do for each other not only become more intentional but also more meaningful.
Part of this has to do with the fact that they are saying “I love you” in ways that make sense to their partner.
When they do that, their partners feel content and happy.
Love Languages in Everyday Life
Love languages also apply to relationships between parents and children, co-workers, and even friends.
For example, your child may have words of affirmation as their primary love language, and so they’d like to hear verbal praise or, “I love you.”
The key is to regularly communicate and ask what your partner needs to keep their love tank full. Then, put this into practice.
Criticisms of the Love Language Theory
Though love languages help many people learn how to communicate better with their partners, there are limitations to the theory and how people apply it to their relationships.
Many People Misuse the Languages
Some people get a bit competitive about using love languages, which can actually add strain to a relationship.
For instance, partners might start keeping track of all the times they use their partner’s love language and compare it to how many times their partner used theirs.
While love languages can be a way to open up communication and compassion, they shouldn’t be used as a game or a weapon against your partner.
Some people may continue to use their own language (instead of their partner’s) to show that they care—and that’s OK.
The idea isn’t that you can’t be in a relationship with anyone who doesn’t share your love language.
Instead, try to be understanding and open; you can recognize and appreciate your partner’s actions even if they don’t perfectly match your own language.
They Don’t Fix Other Relationship Problems
The five love languages won’t fix all of your relationship issues; they are simply one tool of many you can use to help communication in your relationship.
Research has shown that couples who used each other’s love languages felt the happiest within their relationships when they also used self-regulation tools to handle their own emotions.
So, while the love languages were a tool, the couples’ accountability for their emotions and behavioral changes contributed the most to their overall happiness.
You need more than just one tool for a successful relationship.
Your love language can change as well—it’s important to accept and expect that you and your partner’s love languages may change over time, especially during life stressors or major changes like having children.
They May Lead to Pressure on Partners
Many people talk about love languages as they’re used within committed relationships or marriage.
It’s important to remember that learning and understanding your own love language is an important tool for you to practice self-love.
You want to avoid putting too much pressure on your partner to consistently express your love language to you.
One study found that the biggest obstacle for couples who were using each other’s love languages was that, oftentimes, the recipient didn’t even recognize that their partner was trying to use their love language.
So it’s crucial that the recipient recognizes their partner’s efforts, even if they don’t exactly meet expectations.
Story by: Aladdyn King
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