in love, yearn for, miss, darling
戀 centers on deep emotional attachment: being in love, yearning for someone, missing them, or cherishing a darling.
戀 combines 䜌 (a phonetic component with a sense of binding or connecting) and 心 (heart), suggesting a heart bound by love or longing. The modern simplified form is 恋.
The top 䜌 looks like tangled threads (言 and 糸), and the bottom is 心 (heart). Picture a heart tangled in threads of love, yearning, and missing someone.
For レン, imagine a love letter written in a rented room: rent -> レン, and the letter expresses deep love and longing.