Article: The phrase "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) is the most literal way to say "I love you" in Chinese. This is considered an expression of extremely strong emotion and is never used casually.  Use this phrase to express a lifelong love for someone in a more formal situation or serious occasion. For example, you might say this to your new spouse at your wedding, or on an anniversary. The phrase "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) is not just romantic. It can also be used to express love between family members. However, as with romantic partners, it wouldn't be used off-handedly in a casual setting. A Chinese person would probably look at you strangely if you said "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) to them — especially someone you just started dating or have a crush on. A literal translation of the phrase "wǒ xǐ huān nǐ" (我喜欢你) would be "I like you," but it is actually the most common way to say "I love you" in Mandarin Chinese. This phrase is also used in more casual situations where "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) would be considered out of place. For example, you might say it to your romantic partner before the two of you go your separate ways. Texting is very popular in China and a text short-hand has emerged to express your feelings for someone using numbers rather than the words themselves (either in Chinese or in English). The numbers are used in place of Chinese characters because the word for the number in Chinese is pronounced roughly the same as the character itself. Some romantic Chinese text message abbreviations include:  520 (wǔ èr líng) stands for "wǒ ài nǐ" (I love you) 770 (qī qī líng) stands for "qīn qīn nǐ" (kiss you) 880 (bā bā líng) stands for "bào bào nǐ" (hug you) 530 (wǔ sān líng) stands for "wǒ xiǎng nǐ" (miss you). This phrase can also be interpreted to mean that you're thinking about the person. While it's not Chinese, many Chinese speakers will switch to English when they want to tell someone they love them. Primarily, they do this because the phrase "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) is considered far too strong or too serious. If you're just saying "I love you" in a casual moment, such as when getting off the phone, it would probably be more appropriate to say it in English than to say it in Chinese.
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Say "wǒ ài nǐ" (我爱你) to literally say "I love you" to someone. Go with "wǒ xǐ huān nǐ" (我喜欢你) to express romantic feelings. Use numbers to say "I love you" in a text message. Try simply saying "I love you" in English.