Chinese Love Language: From Casual Crushes to Deep Affection
Last updated: August 5, 2024
Love is one of the most human things, transcending all geographic and cultural boundaries and espousing our love for others can be crucial to improving our relationships and lives. Communicating our love, whether romantic or in the sense of appreciation, is a healthy and enriching thing. Since it's so important, it's worthwhile to express such things in the language of the recipient of our love.
There are many ways to express your love for someone in Chinese, though this article will center on more romantic love expressions. Non-romantic expressions of love are often more subtle and harder to learn as a beginner. Here's a brief guide on how to express love in Chinese.
Overview
Meaning | Simplified | Traditional | Pinyin | Sounds Like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
I love you | 我爱你 | 我愛你 | wǒ ài nǐ | "wo eye nee" |
I "like" you | 我喜欢你 | 我喜歡你 | wó xǐhuān nǐ | "wo she Juan nee" |
I have a crush on you | 我对你有好感 | 我對你有好感 | wǒ duì nǐ yǒu hǎogǎn | "wo dway nee yo how gan" |
I have feelings for you | 我对你有感情 | 我對你有感情 | wǒ duì nǐ yǒu gǎnqíng | "wo dway nee yo gan ching" |
You are my everything | 你是我的一切 | 你是我的一切 | nǐ shì wǒ de yí qiè | "nee shur wo duh ee chyeh" |
I have deep affection for you | 我对你深情款款 | 我對你深情款款 | wǒ duì nǐ shēnqíng kuánkuǎn | "wo dway nee shun ching kwan kwan" |
I passionately love you | 我热烈地爱着你 | 我熱烈地愛著你 | wǒ rèliè dì ài zhuó nǐ | "wo ruh lee-uh dee eye juo nee" |
dear / my love | 亲爱的 | 親愛的 | qīn ài de | "cheen eye duh" |
I miss you | 我想你 | 我想你 | wó xiáng nǐ | "wo she-ang nee" |
I want to go on a date with you | 我想和你约会 | 我想和你約會 | wó xiǎng hé nǐ yuēhuì | "wo she-ang heugh nee yoo-eh hway" |
- Pinyin: a standardized way to write Chinese characters in the Latin alphabet.
- Tone: the pitch of a word, of which there are 4 distinct patterns represented by 4 different diacritics (accent marks); if there is no diacritic, it indicates a neutral or absent tone.
- Simplified: Chinese character set with less strokes.
- Traditional: Chinese character set with more strokes.
If needed, you can also check out our refresher on Chinese tones.
Standard Expressions of Love ❤️💋
I love you - 我爱你
Literally: I love you
Sounds like: "wo eye nee"
This is the most typical expression to express a serious romantic love for someone. It is not something you would say to someone who is merely your crush.
Note: The last character is the pronoun you which you can simply change out to express your love for others. In Mandarin there is no difference between subject and object pronouns.
- 他 - he
- 她 - she
- 他们 - them
Example:
我爱她
I love her.
I 'like' you - 我喜欢你
Literally: I "like" you
Sounds like: "wo she Juan nee"
In English "like" can refer to a platonic or a romantic interest. This expression in Mandarin refers to a romantic love but is much more casual than the above one.
Budding Love 💕💓
I have a crush on you - 我对你有好感
Literally: I towards you have good feeling
Sounds like: "wo dway nee yo how gan"
This expression can be used both platonically or romantically. In a platonic sense, it merely suggests a good vibe or some kind of harmony in the relationship between two people. However, it can also express a deeper amorous desire more akin to relationship compatibility.
I have feelings for you - 我对你有感情
Literally: I towards you have affection
Sounds like: "wo dway nee yo gan ching"
You can use this phrase in much the same way that the English translation suggests. It evokes the idea of an emerging romantic sentiment between two people.
Expressions for Deep Love 😍💞
I have deep affection for you - 我对你深情款款
Literally: I towards you deep emotion sincere
Sounds like: "wo dway nee shun ching kwan kwan"
Things are getting serious now. This expression really stresses the depth and sincerity of one's love. It is said by a committed lover.
You are my everything - 你是我的一切
Literally: you are my everything
Sounds like: "nee shur wo duh ee chyeh"
This is exactly like English expression in terms of usage and grammar. It's very intense, so don't use it too early into a relationship.
I'm passionately in love with you - 我热烈地爱着你
Literally: I passionate -ly love -ing you
Sounds like: "wo ruh lee-uh dee eye juo nee"
When the fire is there, this is a great expression to convey that passionate love. Let's break this phrase down:
- 我 - I
- 热烈 - passionate / fiery
- 地 - adverb maker (added after an adjective or verb similar to '-ly')
- 爱 - to love
- 着 - aspect particle that indicates an action is in progress
- 你 - you
Other 💗🌹
My dear / My love / Darling / Honey - 亲爱的
Literally: that which is beloved
Sounds like: "cheen eye duh"
Like the English translations suggest, this is a very useful term of endearment to refer to one's significant other. It's composed of 亲爱 "beloved" and 的 which is a particle that attaches attributes to a noun similar to "that which."
It's usage is broader than just the romantic context. For example:
- 我亲爱的兄弟 - my dear brother
- 亲爱的乘客 - dear passengers
I miss you - 我想你
Literally: I want you
Sounds like: "wo she-ang nee"
In Chinese it's common that there are 1 character versions of 2 character verbs. If the context is clear, the 1 character version may be all that's needed. In this case, 想 (xiǎng) is short for 想念 (xiǎngniàn), which means "to yearn" or "to miss."
I want to go on a date with you - 我想和你约会
Literally: I want with you date
Sounds like: "wo she-ang heugh nee yoo-eh hway"
While not a direct expression of love, this is a useful phrase when you want to initiate a possible romantic relationship with someone. The term 约会 is both a noun and a verb. As a noun it can refer to either a general social engagement or a romantic date. As a verb it refers to the act of setting up or arranging the meeting.
Note: Having the same word act as both a noun and a verb is not that uncommon in Chinese.
Expressing your love for someone is special but it's not just what we say that matters, but also what we do for them. One of the actions that we can do is learn our partner's native language. If you are interested in starting this journey to learn more Chinese words, we recommend you check out our Mandarin courses and software. If it seems something up your alley, start your free trial today.