What is this called? Do you feel different levels of love for different people - friends, relatives?

[Anonymous]

We’ve recently lost a family member and I was explaining how while I love this person very deeply, my love is nothing compared to the love their spouse feels for them. Not in the sense of romantic or sexual love but overall love and care. I can visualize levels of love. For instance, I loved my grandparents in a different feeling than my aunts and uncles and each grandparent was on a different level. Which is different from how I felt love for my father I connected with as an adult compared to my mother who raised me.

What is this called? I’d like to find a better way to describe this.

In my mind it’s like layers in a pyramid. Different levels of love and I have feelings associated with each.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone speak arabic? I don’t, but I was told one time that there are different words for various different types of love described above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone speak arabic? I don’t, but I was told one time that there are different words for various different types of love described above.

Op here. Thanks, I do not. That’s interesting though.

[Anonymous]

OP, try the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy and start with eros, philia, and agape.

https://iep.utm.edu/love/

[Anonymous]

Why do you need to classify and rank love?

[Anonymous]

Yes. I have felt different levels of love for different people--this happens all the time. I don't know if this is what you are looking for OP, but there are shades of love and care. I've used some of these to express emotions that don't exist in English. Lit hub dot com has even more obscure words for even rarer feelings.

Hygge (Danish)
Roughly translatable as “cozy" feeling, hygge is the feeling of enjoying a warm, comfortable atmosphere at home. It comes along with little acts of domestic joy, such as lighting candles, baking, and spending time with family. Danes focus on creating this atmosphere, especially around the holidays.

Commuovere
This word means you’ve been moved or touched, or had your heart warmed, by someone. Specifically, it’s a story that has stirred your heart or moved you to tears.

Xeno
n. the smallest measurable unit of human connection, typically exchanged between passing strangers—a flirtatious glance, a sympathetic nod, a shared laugh about some odd coincidence—moments that are fleeting and random but still contain powerful emotional nutrients that can alleviate the symptoms of feeling alone.

Koi No Yokan (Japanese)
Ever met someone and had the very memorable feeling that you knew you’d fall in love with them? Not exactly being in love and not exactly love at first sight, Koi No Yokan is something in between.

Heartworm
n. a relationship or friendship that you can’t get out of your head, which you thought had faded long ago but is still somehow alive and unfinished, like an abandoned campsite whose smoldering embers still have the power to start a forest fire.

Ecstatic Shock
When you say someone gives you butterflies, that feeling of catching their eye and having a thrilling energy pass through your body is called ecstatic shock.

[Anonymous]

yes? don't we all?

[Anonymous]

The bonds we have with different people differ. Of course your bond with this dead relative is less intense than that of her spouse.