5 Love Languages

Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: we speak different love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. In a friendly, often humorous style, he unpacks each one. Some husbands or wives may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counseling practice.

People express and receive love in different ways. Dr. Gary Chapman identifies these as the five languages of love: quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service and physical touch. If you express love toward others in a way they don't understand, they will not realize you've expressed your love at all. The problem is that you're speaking different languages!