我喜欢他
wǒ xǐhuan tā
The English phrase "I like him" is translated into Chinese as 我喜欢他 (wǒ xǐhuan tā).
我喜欢他 is used to express a feeling of fondness or romantic attraction toward a male person. Depending on the context, it can convey either platonic fondness or romantic attraction. If you want to say you have a favorable impression of him, you might use 我对他有好感.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 我 (I), 喜欢 (to like) and 他 (him).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, you would say 我鍾意佢 to mean "I like him" or 我好中意佢 to mean "I really like him" or "I like him a lot". In Taiwanese Hokkien, the phrase 我愛伊 translates to "I love him".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase follows a standard Subject-Verb-Object structure similar to English.
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ xǐhuan tā
Did you know?
- The pronunciation of 他 (tā) for 'him' is identical to the pronunciation for 'she' (她) in spoken Mandarin, meaning context is the only way to tell the gender apart when listening.
- In spoken Chinese, the word 喜欢 is often doubled as 喜欢喜欢 to soften the tone and make the expression of affection sound more cute or playful.
- The character 喜 is frequently used in traditional Chinese weddings and decorations to symbolize good fortune and auspiciousness.
Examples in context
- 他很可能知道我喜欢他。He probably knows I like him.Tatoeba #8926317 by iiujik, translation #2871399 by Hybrid
- 我喜欢他。I like him.Tatoeba #633987 by ver, translation #283629 by CK
- 其实我喜欢他。Qíshí wǒ xǐhuān tā.Actually, I like him.
Example conversation
Xiaowen tells Zhiqiang about her crush.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你觉得那个新同事怎么样？Nǐ juéde nàge xīn tóngshì zěnmeyàng?What do you think of that new colleague?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我觉得我喜欢他。Wǒ juéde wǒ xǐhuān tā.I think I like him.
- 志强 Zhiqiang真的吗？你得告诉他。Zhēnde ma? Nǐ děi gàosu tā.Really? You should tell him.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我太害羞了，不敢说。Wǒ tài hàixiū le, bù gǎn shuō.I'm too shy to say it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
