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What are the Greek words for love? (agape, phileo, storge, eros)

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Short answer

English uses one word, 'love', for many different things, but the New Testament was written in Greek, which had several words. Knowing them (all reachable through English here) sharpens what the Bible actually says:

  • agapē (ἀγάπη), self-giving, committed love; the love God has for the world and the love He commands. 'God so loved the world…' (John 3:16) and 'God is love' (1 John 4:8) use this word, and so does the command to love God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37; Matthew 22:39).
  • philia / phileō (φιλία), friendship and warm affection, the love between friends and family. It's behind 'brotherly love' (Greek philadelphia, Romans 12:10; Hebrews 13:1).
  • storgē (στοργή), natural family affection (parent–child). It appears mostly in its negatives, people 'without natural affection' (astorgos, Romans 1:31; 2 Timothy 3:3).
  • erōs, romantic/desire love. The word itself isn't used in the New Testament, but the reality is celebrated in the Old Testament, especially the Song of Songs.

Question

What are the different Greek words for love in the Bible? (agape, phileo, and the others)

Analysis

agape, the headline love

Agapē is the New Testament's signature word for love: a deliberate, self-giving commitment that seeks the good of another regardless of merit. It defines God's own character ('God is love,' 1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16), His act at the cross ('God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us,' BSB, Romans 5:8), and the life He calls His people to ('love one another,' John 13:34). The great 'love chapter' (1 Corinthians 13:4–1 Corinthians 13:7) is a portrait of agapē, patient, kind, not self-seeking, and Paul says it is the greatest of all that lasts (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The others, and a famous conversation

Philia is real and good, Jesus is called a 'friend' and weeps for His friend Lazarus (John 11:3; John 11:5, phileō), but it is warmth between near ones, where agapē reaches even to enemies (Matthew 5:44). A well-known scene turns on the two words: after the resurrection, Jesus three times asks Peter 'do you love me?' (John 21:15–John 21:17), the Greek shifting between agapaō and phileō, a conversation many readers find pointed precisely because Greek distinguishes the words English blends. A caution: the distinctions are real but not rigid, biblical writers sometimes use agapaō and phileō interchangeably, so word-meaning is settled by context, not by the label alone.

Sources, trace every one

Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.

  • John 3:16bsb

    For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

  • 1 John 4:8bsb

    Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

  • Matthew 22:37bsb

    Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

  • Matthew 22:39bsb

    And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

  • Romans 12:10bsb

    Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.

  • Hebrews 13:1bsb

    Continue in brotherly love.

  • Romans 1:31bsb

    They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.

  • 2 Timothy 3:3bsb

    unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,

  • 1 John 4:16bsb

    And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

  • Romans 5:8bsb

    But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

  • John 13:34bsb

    A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:4bsb

    Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:7bsb

    It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:13bsb

    And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

  • John 11:3bsb

    So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”

  • John 11:5bsb

    Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

On contested questions we show every major view, attributed and cited, and pick no winner. Answers are synthesized from primary sources, truth you can trace, not opinion.

What are the Greek words for love? (agape, phileo, storge, eros) · Bubble Bible