Translation guide
Expressing the feeling of romantic disappointment, unrequited love, or a love that didn't work out.
Expressing that your romantic feelings are not returned.
Expressing that a relationship or romantic expectation didn't meet your hopes.
Literally 'love that fell short of expectations'. Natural way to say a love that disappointed you.
あの恋は期待外れだった。
That love was a disappointment.
Talking about a love that ended or never blossomed.
Literally 'love that didn't bear fruit'. A common, slightly poetic way to say a love that didn't work out.
実らなかった恋の思い出。
Memories of a love that never came to be.
片思い (kataomoi) is the state of loving someone who doesn't love you back, often before any relationship. 失恋 (shitsuren) is the heartbreak after a rejection or breakup. You can have 片思い without 失恋 if you never confess, but 失恋 usually follows a confession or end of a relationship.
Literally 'one-sided love'. The most common and neutral way to say unrequited love.
彼に片思いしている。
I have a crush on him, but he doesn't feel the same way.
Refers to a love that has ended or been rejected, often after a relationship or confession. Focuses on the heartbreak.
失恋して、しばらく落ち込んだ。
I was heartbroken and depressed for a while.
A more explicit phrase meaning 'unrequited love affair'. Slightly literary.
それは片思いの恋だった。
It was an unrequited love.
Using the verb がっかりする (to be disappointed) to describe a disappointing love.
がっかりする恋も経験のうちだ。
Disappointing loves are also part of life experience.
A more casual, everyday phrase meaning 'a love that didn't go well'.
うまくいかなかった恋を引きずっている。
I'm still hung up on a love that didn't work out.