![]() ![]() An fMRI study revealed that Chinese people may have a conditioned response to romance based on years of tradition. Similarly, a psychology study on 18 college students in Beijing found that Chinese people may exercise more restraint when dealing with romantic feelings. “They are used to educating children with negative language” says Xia Xueluan, a Sociologist from Peking University. Some people believe it’s a cultural thing. So, why do Chinese people have such an aversion to saying these words? For a country that is known for being direct, it seems strange that they would shy away from this sort of expression. When asked why phrases with the word “爱” were rarely said, (outside of pop lyrics, that is) most Chinese people respond with “it’s too strong.” The Business Insider reports that an online video of children telling their parents “我爱你” went viral in 2014, and one parent even responds bluntly, “Are you drunk?” It wasn't until I spent a great deal of time in my friends' American families that I realized how infrequent our usage was in comparison.Īnd from reading some articles online, it was clear that I wasn't alone. Chalking it up to my immigrant parents trying to learn English, I gradually got used to lack of the word “爱” in our Chinese conversations. They would always switch to English and then say “I love you,” and even then they did so sparingly. Growing up in a full Chinese household, my parents never said “我爱你” to me. ![]() Plug it into Google Translate, and the answer that comes up is “我爱你” (wǒ ài nǐ.) Easy peasy.Įxcept that Chinese people don’t actually say this to each other. Do you know how to say "I love you" in Chinese? ![]()
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