Lesson 11 - Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ – I like you

你 们 好!
Nǐmen hǎo!

In this lesson we learn to express liking and loving... and talk about Chinese tea!

Sentences

我 喜 欢 你.
Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ I like you.

我 爱 你.
Wǒ ài nǐ I love you.

我 喜 欢 绿 茶.
Wǒ xǐhuan lǜchá I like green tea.

我 喜 欢 红 茶.
Wǒ xǐhuan hóngchá I like red tea (= black tea)

Vocabulary

xǐhuan 喜 欢 = like (v)
ài 爱 = love (v ,n)
lǜ 绿 = green (adj)
hóng 红 = red (adj)
chá 茶 = tea (n)

Like and love

In Chinese, the verb ài refers to love between people, but also to love towards the home country or a political party. It is also used to indicate that one has taken a special interest in doing something, such as "I just love to watch movies," wŏ ài kàn diànyĭng. This way, it denotes more or less the extent of doing something, not the type of emotion in question as such. Ài can also refer to a habit of doing something: "he loves to drink beer," tā ài hē píjiŭ, means "he has the habit of drinking beer."

Please note that the word ài can act as a verb and a noun.

Chinese tea

The Chinese have their own "tea tasting" tradition, similar to the western art of wine tasting. Chinese tea tasting is called pǐn chá ( 品 茶 ). It involves the act of enjoying tea and giving some educated comments about its qualities. One has to have some basic knowledge about the tea culture in order to be able to participate in pǐn chá to its full extent.

In China, there is also a long tradition of a tea ceremony called, chá dào ( 茶 道). It is becoming more and more popular again, as more and more tea houses are emerging around China. For some period of time, the tea house-culture was declining, but today it is again becoming "chic" to go to tea-houses. It has also become a popular custom to take business partners to the sophisticated – and costly - tea ceremony instead of the more traditional dinner table.

If you are invited as a guest to a Chinese home, the host will prepare you tea, for sure. It is not only to offer you something to drink, but also to show respect and be cordial in the most positive sense of the word. Normally a tea pot can be filled three times with fresh hot water without replacing the tea leaves - some people actually consider the third round to be the most tasty and precious one. According to old etiquette and social customs, the guest should seriously consider leaving the house if the host is hinting at the need to replace the tea leaves and prepare a new pot of tea – that would count as a sign that the visit has lasted too long already!

China produces a large variety of teas that are classified according to the processing method and the place of origin of the specific tea plant in question. The Chinese prefer green tea, which often tastes a bit bitter in western mouths. At least until one gets used to it. The leaves used to make green tea are heated and dried right after they are picked to prevent the fermentation process. Some of the most famous green teas are Longjing (Dragon well), Maofeng tea from Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) area, Hangzhou West lake tea and Jin Zhen (Silver Needle) from the Junshan mountain area.

Outside China people drink more black tea, or "red tea," as it is called in Chinese. Dry tea leaves look black, but actually the drink itself has more of a reddish color. To make red tea, the tea leaves are broken and dried, and thus fermented. Famous red teas include, for example, Anhui province Qi Hong and Dian Hong from Yunnan.

Oolong tea (or Wulong, as it is written in proper pinyin) is very expensive, as the specific plant usually grows on high mountain slopes and is laborious to pick. Oolong tea is so called half-fermented tea. It is grown in Taiwan and in Mainland China in Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

Especially in northern parts of China, people like to add extra flavor to their tea. The base for flavored tea is usually green tea, and additional taste is obtained, for example, from jasmine flowers, roses, orchids or plum flowers. Jasmine tea is by far the most common out of all of these and known by the rest of the world too.

Yunnan is famous for its pressed tea, pu'er cha. It is prepared from red tea, which is pressed into a very hard cake, which makes it easier to transport the tea in mountaneous regions like Yunnan. Unlike other teas, pu'er gets better and better as it gets older. As for green tea, the younger it is, the better – and more expensive – it is.

In China, you can buy tea from just about any shop or supermarket, but in order to be sure you are getting what you pay for, you better rely on the service of professional and specialized tea shops.

Oh yes, one more thing... tea is good for your body and mind, and keeps you healthy, youthful and beautiful!