How to Say I Love You in Chinese

Culturally, Chinese people are not known to express love as often using words as in Western cultures. Even so, there are a number of ways to communicate how you feel in Chinese and they can be totally appropriate to use – especially if you are speaking to a boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse. Instead of just teaching you how to say I love you, we have a whole list of phrases that can all be “love” phrases for you to try out.

How to say I love you in Chinese and essential Chinese love phrases:

I love you – 我爱你 wǒ ài nǐ

This is the most direct translation and an easy one to remember! How do you respond to this? You can say 我也爱你 (Wǒ yě ài nǐ) which means I love you, too.

I like you – 我喜欢你 wǒ xǐ huan nǐ

This is a good one for you to try out that is not as serious. You could use this phrase in a flirtatious way or just as a little more subtle way of expressing your feelings.

I miss you – 我想你 wǒ xiǎng nǐ

Want to emphasize it even more? Try 我很想念你 (wǒ hěn xiǎng niàn nǐ). It means “I miss you a lot.”

Will you be my girlfriend/boyfriend? – 你愿意做我的女/男朋友吗？nǐ yuàn yì zuò wǒ de nǚ / nán péng you ma?

This is pretty straightforward! Be careful when you’re practicing this phrase – you might just get yourself into a relationship.

Will you marry me? – 你愿意嫁给我吗？nǐ yuàn yì jià gěi wǒ ma?

With this phrase you’ve brought your relationship full circle and you’re making the biggest step! If you get the response 我愿意 (wǒ yuàn yì) then..congratulations!

Those are the essential phrases love phrases that you need to know to fall in love in Chinese! We hope that you have fallen in love with the Chinese language and we know that you can learn it faster than ever if you download the Du Chinese app. Besides that though, we have some bonus Chinese love phrases that you can check out here:

Additional Chinese love phrases

你是我的唯一 nǐ shì wǒ de wéi yī
You are my one and only. You’ll hear this phrase used in a lot of songs.
你是我的白马王子 nǐ shì wǒ de bái mǎ wáng zǐ
You are my knight in shining armor.
我永远爱你 wǒ yǒng yuǎn ài nǐ
I love you forever.
我爱你一生一世 wǒ ài nǐ yì shēng yí shì
Another way to say “I love you forever” or “I love you all my life”
亲亲你 – qīn qīn nǐ
Kiss you
抱抱你 – bào bào nǐ
Hug you

Now that you’re armed with all these phrases you’re ready for Chinese love holidays, of which there are plenty! Qixi, Single’s Day, 520 and even February 14th! Some of the best ways to express love are with your time and gifts, but taking the time to learn a few phrases could mean a lot to your special someone if they are a Chinese speaker.