初恋

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 初恋 is read as はつこい and is a noun for one’s first love, either the person or the first experience of romantic love.
• Basic usage: Reuniting with the person from one’s first love appears in 初恋の相手と再会する, while portraying a boy’s first love appears in 少年の初恋を描く.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Person and experience
  • 初恋の相手 denotes the person, while 初恋 portrayed in a work denotes the experience.
• Difference from 恋人
  • Unlike the word for a current romantic partner, this term identifies the first person loved or the experience itself.