「大好きだ。」（だいすきだ。） [dai-skee-da] Love as an active verb is usually represented by the word 「好きだ。」（すきだ。） [skee-da] "is like. (like like)" or "is love." To explain the noun "Love" one can speak of 愛 [ai] and 恋 [koi] and while 初恋（はつこい）[hatsu-koi] is the term for "first love" or "initial romance," 愛 tends to lean on a saucier, more passionate, weathered and well-aged sense of Love and Romance. The variety of senses for expressing adoration, affection, or romantic interest vary, so depending on context one could say to their family: 「みんな、大好きだ。」（みんな、だいすきだ。）[min'na, dai-skee-da] "Everyone, [i] love [you] all." Versus a confession of love, 「告白」（こくはく） [ko-ku-ha-ku] that is, if deemed successful, the beginning of a ("public") relationship, or perhaps dramatically a parting of ways, or some space in between. A confession of love can be as simple as 「好きだ。」（すきだ。）[skee-da]. While 「大好きだ。」（だいすきだ。）[dai-skee-da] being more emphatic and extreme, is more suitable once strong familiarity is established, or the feeling is very strong.