Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.

The line defines love as a shift in priorities: genuine affection is measured by a willingness to place another person’s well-being ahead of one’s own immediate desires. It frames love less as a feeling and more as an ethic of care—an orientation toward generosity, protection, and sacrifice. At the same time, the wording can be read as aspirational rather than prescriptive: it captures an ideal of devotion that many people recognize in parenting, partnership, or deep friendship. In modern quotation culture, it functions as a compact moral test for love, though it can be misused to justify unhealthy self-erasure if taken without balance.