妈妈不说“我爱你”
How to say I love you in Chinese
Name: ________________ Date: ________
中文的“I love you”，是“我爱你”。三个字，很好说。
可是很多中国爸爸妈妈，很少说“我爱你”。
我在北京上大学。每个星期天，妈妈都给我打电话。
她问：“吃饭了吗？”“天气冷了，多穿点儿衣服。”“钱够不够？”
她不说“我爱你”。可是我知道，这些话，都是“我爱你”。
在网上，很多人说“五二零”，因为“五二零”和“我爱你”听起来差不多。五月二十号，很多人买花，说“我爱你”。
今年五月二十号，我给妈妈打电话：“妈妈，五二零！”
妈妈问：“什么五二零？你的钱不够了？”
我笑了：“妈妈，我爱你。”
电话那边，很久没有声音。
后来，妈妈说：“那，你吃饭了吗？”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中文 | zhōngwén | Chinese (language) |
| 爱 | ài | to love; love |
| 三 | sān | three |
| 字 | zì | character; written word |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to say |
| 多 | duō | many; much |
| 中国 | zhōngguó | China |
| 爸爸 | bàba | dad; father |
| 妈妈 | māma | mom; mother |
| 少 | shǎo | few; little |
| 上 | shàng | up; above; on |
English (for the teacher)
“I love you” in Chinese is 我爱你. Three characters, easy to say.
But lots of Chinese mums and dads hardly ever say “I love you”.
I’m at university in Beijing. Every Sunday, Mum calls me.
She asks, “Have you eaten?” “It’s getting cold, put on more clothes.” “Have you got enough money?”
She doesn’t say “I love you”. But I know that all these words mean “I love you”.
Online, lots of people say 520, “five two zero”, because 五二零 (wǔ èr líng) sounds a lot like 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ). On the twentieth of May, lots of people buy flowers and say “I love you”.
This year on the twentieth of May, I called Mum. “Mum, 520!”
Mum asked, “What 520? Have you run out of money?”
I laughed. “Mum, I love you.”
For a long time, there was no sound at the other end.
Then Mum said, “So… have you eaten?”