我喜欢你
wǒ xǐhuān nǐ
In Chinese, "i like you" is said as 我喜欢你 (wǒ xǐhuān nǐ).
The phrase 我喜欢你 is the most common and direct way to say "I like you." In a romantic context, it is often used as a confession of interest or a way to say 'I have a crush on you' before moving to more serious declarations of love.
Meaning: I like you (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 我 (I), 喜欢 (to like) and 你 (you).
Which one should you use?
While 我喜欢你 expresses liking or affection, 我爱你 is much stronger and expresses deep love. If you want to be more subtle, you can use 我对你有好感 to say you have a favorable impression of someone, 我对你有感觉 to imply having feelings or a sense of attraction towards someone or 我对你感到着迷 to say you are captivated or fascinated by the person.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, 我鐘意你 is a direct translation of "I like you." To intensify the liking, you can say 我好鐘意你.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 喜欢 does not change its form based on the subject or tense.
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ xǐhuān nǐ
Did you know?
- In modern internet slang, some young people use the number '520' as a shorthand for 我爱你 or 我喜欢你 because the numbers sound similar to these phrases in Mandarin.
- While 我喜欢你 is direct, it is common in Chinese culture to express likeness through acts of service, such as peeling fruit for someone, rather than using spoken words.
- If you want to express liking someone in a way that sounds more sophisticated or literary, you might use the phrase 倾心 (qīng xīn). This literally means 'to tip one's heart' over to someone.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢你。I like you.This sentence shows how to use the phrase 我喜欢你.Tatoeba #1424394 by sadhen, translation #410751 by CK
- 我想告诉你，我喜欢你。Wǒ xiǎng gàosù nǐ, wǒ xǐhuan nǐ.I want to tell you, I like you.
- 1 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Haoran confesses his feelings to Yuting at a park.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，我喜欢你。Yǔtíng, wǒ xǐhuan nǐ.Yuting, I like you.
- 雨婷 Yuting真的吗？我也喜欢你。Zhēn de ma? Wǒ yě xǐhuan nǐ.Really? I like you too.
- 浩然 Haoran我太开心了。Wǒ tài kāixīn le.I am so happy.
- 雨婷 Yuting我也是。Wǒ yě shì.Me too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
