“Will you be my girlfriend?” Romeo asks. “Yes, of course! I’ve been waiting for you to ask,” replied Juliet. 

Fast forward three months. The couple has broken up. The reasons; it could have been as simple as they rushed into it, maybe it was a relationship filled with endless drama, or it could have an entirely different reason. They might have not known each other’s needs, or, more specifically, their partner’s love language.

Love languages are essentially how one likes to receive love and how one expresses love. There are five different types of love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, physical love, acts of service, and receiving gifts.

Which one describes you or your partner more? 

Words of affirmation are spoken or written words that are used in a positive manner. It can uplift and inspire others, and is used for compliments and words of encouragement. Words are a powerful tool that is used to express all types of different emotions, such as love and appreciation. 

If one enjoys spending time together, their love language is quality time. This language consists of being able to spend time with your significant other while having their undivided attention. The people who have this love language value togetherness, and it gives couples the opportunity to communicate their feelings and thoughts. 

Physical love is the expression of feelings through touch and people who have this as their love language communicate their feelings without having to speak. This love language also creates emotional intimacy. 

Acts of service can be described as going out of your way to do something thoughtful for the person you love. People cook for their significant other, or buy a meaningful gift out of the blue. It can also be as simple as opening the door for them and includes the littlest things that make them feel loved and happy. 

The least common of the languages is receiving gifts, this one in particular is frowned upon. Others believe that people whose love language involves receiving gifts instead of gifting them are materialistic or superficial, but this sentiment makes them feel loved and reflects the care and thoughtfulness the person put behind the gift, creating a whole new meaning. 

Love languages play a key part in how couples express love to each other, if one does not understand the other’s love language it may cause future problems for the relationship. Imagine this: Brandon and his girlfriend, Bebai, speak two different languages. Brandon speaks English and Bebai speaks Spanish and they want to love each other and be in a relationship. However, they don’t understand each other, nor do they want to learn the other’s language. 

They will be able to understand bits and pieces of it, but will never fully understand. What’s the point of being in a relationship if they don’t want to learn to communicate in each other’s language?

Despite how much a couple may love one another, they can’t translate a language they don’t know to how to speak. To some extent they can understand through body language and emotion, but that is only going to be a flicker of love couples can offer one another.