Love languages are something spoken about across social media a lot, but what actually are they? And how can they benefit your relationships?

Love languages are ways of expressing your love for somebody, or a way that somebody expresses their love for you. There are 5 different types; quality time, acts of service, words of affirmation, physical touch and receiving gifts.

Everybody has a love language, or multiple love languages, that make them feel most loved and there are lots of quizzes that you can take online to figure out your love language. If you’re in a relationship, the best way to show your partner love is by doing things that fit their specific love language. It can help your partner feel loved and appreciated and generally improve the quality of your relationship. Not sure how? Here are some things that you can do for every love language.

Quality Time

Somebody whose love language is quality time feels most loved when their partner makes an active effort to spend time with them and listen to them. Ways that you could do this for a partner could include planning thoughtful dates to spend time together, having meaningful conversations about your relationship, or even something as simple as putting your phone down and turning off the TV when you spend time together.

Acts of Service

Making small gestures that help save your partner time and energy is how to make somebody whose love language is acts of service feel cared for. This doesn’t have to be anything huge, it can be as easy as making them a cup of coffee before a busy day or doing the dishes before they get home from work. Small gestures that help alleviate pressure from their day, or make their day a little bit better, is key for partners with an acts of service love language.

Words of Affirmation

For people with this love language, telling them how you feel is all that you need to do to help them feel cared for. Telling them that you love them, giving them compliments, or taking the time to tell them that you appreciate what they do for you can make a huge difference. For people whose love language is words of affirmation, communication is important, so texting them throughout the day or calling them when you are apart can also help them to feel loved.

Physical Touch

Physical touch is another love language that is really easy to show. For people with this love language, simple things like holding their hand and giving hugs and kisses is enough to show them that you care and love them. It’s important to prioritise physical touch that isn’t strictly sexual, to show that you want to show them love and care outside of sex.

Receiving Gifts

People whose love language is receiving gifts want to be able to see a visual representation of your love and thoughtfulness. A common misconception is that this has to be big and expensive presents, when in reality small gifts are just as good (if not better). Buying small things like flowers or snacks can really show your partner that you care. The more thoughtful the better, so listen out for when they mention something that they might want, or reference their favourite flower or chocolate.

Love languages can be so beneficial in helping your communication and understanding of each other, so add it to your list of things to learn about your partner.

Edited by Yoan Shterev