我想和你结婚
wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn
The English phrase "I want to marry you" is expressed in Chinese as 我想和你结婚 (wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn).
This phrase is a direct expression used to tell someone that you wish to become their spouse.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 和 (hé) in this phrase literally means "with", indicating the person you are performing the action with.
Which one should you use?
While 我想和你结婚 is a direct statement of desire, a man might use the more traditional expression 我想娶你 (wǒ xiǎng qǔ nǐ), which literally means "I want to marry/take you as a wife".
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 结婚 (jiéhūn) is an intransitive verb in Chinese. This means you cannot say "marry you" directly as a single transitive verb. Instead, you must use a structure like "with you marry".
How do you pronounce it?
wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not attempt to translate "marry you" directly as 结婚你. Because 结婚 is intransitive, you must precede it with 和你 (with you).
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese pop culture, some people avoid saying 结婚 and instead use the slang 领证 (lǐngzhèng), which literally means 'collecting the certificate'.
- The term 结婚 contains the character 结, which means 'to tie' or 'to knot'. This reflects the idea of marriage as the tying of a knot to bind two people together.
- While 我想和你结婚 is direct, many Chinese couples traditionally use a 'middleman' or matchmaker to facilitate the proposal process to avoid the awkwardness of a direct request.
Examples in context
- 我想和你结婚。Wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn.I want to marry you.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang proposes to Xiaowen during a romantic dinner.
- 志强 Zhiqiang晓雯，我想和你结婚。Xiǎowén, wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn.Xiaowen, I want to marry you.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen真的吗？我太开心了！Zhēn de ma? Wǒ tài kāixīn le!Really? I am so happy!
- 志强 Zhiqiang我愿意一辈子照顾你。Wǒ yuànyì yībèizi zhàogù nǐ.I am willing to take care of you for a lifetime.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我也愿意。Wǒ yě yuànyì.I am willing too.
