35 Chinese Pick Up Lines and Compliments for Flirty Conversation Starters
So, you’ve been traveling a little around China.
You’ve made a few local friends and perhaps even found a language partner.
Now you want to know how to score a few dates, and eventually find a nice Chinese girlfriend or boyfriend.
It’s the natural next step, right?
If you’re coming from the Western world, where pick up lines abound and people are actually receptive to them—at least, to a certain extent—you’ll need to adjust your game for breaking the ice and flirting in Mandarin Chinese.
Let’s start out with the basics.
Contents
- Do Pick Up Lines Exist in Mandarin Chinese?
- Chinese Compliments as Pick Up Lines
- Cheesy Chinese Pick Up Lines
- Phrases for Flirting in Chinese
- And One More Thing...
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Do Pick Up Lines Exist in Mandarin Chinese?
Pick up lines are very much a Western phenomenon and, as such, they’re pretty uncommon in China. In general, what we think of as “pick up lines” are probably best avoided—even the wittiest examples.
Most male-female relationships in China are founded on plain, simple and polite introductions.
These restrictions don’t entirely apply to foreigners who, as outsiders, are able to flout the rules of social behavior to a certain degree.
My advice is to avoid cheesy pick up lines—known in Chinese as 泡妞术语 (pào niū shù yǔ)—or hitting on people, which is referred to in Chinese as 搭讪 (dā shàn).
Chinese Compliments as Pick Up Lines
Giving someone a compliment is generally a safe way to start a conversation. You can get flirty with one of these compliments:
- 你的微笑真迷人。 (nǐ de wēi xiào zhēn mí rén.) — Your smile is charming.
- 你的眼睛像星星一样明亮。 (nǐ de yǎn jīng xiàng xīng xing yí yàng míng liàng.) — Your eyes sparkle like stars.
- 你的笑声像音乐一样动听。 (nǐ de xiào shēng xiàng yīn yuè yí yàng dòngtīng.) — Your laughter is as melodious as music.
- 你真可爱。 (nǐ zhēn kě ài.) — You are very cute.
- 你的声音听起来很甜美。 (nǐ de shēng yīn tīng qǐ lái hěn tián měi.) — Your voice sounds very sweet.
- 你的风格真有吸引力。 (nǐ de fēng gé zhēn yǒu xī yǐn lì.) — Your style is really attractive.
- 你说话的声音像流水一样温柔。 (nǐ shuō huà de shēng yīn xiàng liú shuǐ yí yàng wēn róu.) — The sound of your voice is as gentle as running water.
- 你是我见过最美的女孩。 (nǐ shì wǒ jiàn guò zuì měi de nǚ hái.) — You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
- 你太帅了。 (nǐ tài shuài le.) — You are so handsome.
- 你的智慧和美丽让我着迷。 (nǐ de zhì huì hé měi lì ràng wǒ zháo mí.) — Your intelligence and beauty captivate me.
- 你的存在让整个房间都变得明亮起来。 (nǐ de cún zài ràng zhěng gè fáng jiān dōu biàn de míng liàng qǐ lái.) — Your presence lights up the entire room.
- 你的幽默感总是能够点亮我的日子。 (nǐ de yōu mò gǎn zǒng shì nénggòu diǎn liàng wǒ de rì zi.) — Your sense of humor always brightens my days.
- 你的努力和付出总是让人敬佩。 (nǐ de nǔ lì hé fù chū zǒng shì ràng rén jìng pèi.) — Your hard work and dedication are truly admirable.
- 你的气质很优雅。 (nǐ de qì zhì hěn yōu yǎ.) — You are very elegant.
Cheesy Chinese Pick Up Lines
As mentioned before, Chinese pick up lines aren’t the type you might think of when you think of English pick up lines. That said, you can translate some fun cheesy English pick up lines into Chinese and give them a try.
- 你是太阳吗?因为你照亮了我的世界。 (nǐ shì tài yáng ma? yīn wèi nǐ zhào liàng le wǒ de shì jiè.) — Are you the sun? Because you light up my world.
- 你的微笑能否借我一下?因为我想向我的朋友展示,天堂是什么感觉。 (nǐ de wēi xiào néng fǒu jiè wǒ yí xià? yīn wèi wǒ xiǎng xiàng wǒ de péng yǒu zhǎn shì, tiān táng shì shén me gǎn jué.) — Can I borrow your smile? Because I want to show my friends what heaven feels like.
- 你的眼睛像星星,我迷失在其中了。 (nǐ de yǎn jīng xiàng xīng xing, wǒ mí shī zài qí zhōng le.) — Your eyes are like stars; I’m lost in them.
- 我可以跟着你回家吗?因为我父母总是告诉我要追随我的梦想。 (wǒ kě yǐ gēn zhe nǐ huí jiā ma? yīn wèi wǒ fù mǔ zǒng shì gào sù wǒ yào zhuī suí wǒ de mèng xiǎng.) — Can I follow you home? Cause my parents always told me to follow my dreams.
- 你是魔术师吗?因为每当我看着你,其他人都消失了。 (nǐ shì mó shù shī ma? yīn wèi měi dāng wǒ kàn zhe nǐ, qí tā rén dōu xiāo shi le.) — Are you a magician? Because whenever I look at you, everyone else disappears.
- 你是我的地心引力,让我无法离开。 (nǐ shì wǒ de dì xīn yǐn lì, ràng wǒ wú fǎ lí kāi.) — You’re my gravitational pull; I can’t seem to stay away.
- 你有名字吗,还是我可以称呼你为我的? (nǐ yǒu míng zì ma, hái shì wǒ kě yǐ chēng hū nǐ wéi wǒ de?) — Do you have a name, or can I call you mine?
- 你的名字一定是无线网,因为我感觉到了连接。 (nǐ de míng zì yí dìng shì wú xiàn wǎng, yīn wèi wǒ gǎn jué dào le lián jiē.) — Your name must be Wifi because I’m feeling a connection.
- 你的微笑比快递还要迅速,直达我的心。 (nǐ de wēi xiào bǐ kuài dì hái yào xùn sù, zhí dá wǒ de xīn.) — Your smile is faster than express delivery, straight to my heart.
- 你是谷歌吗?因为你拥有我一直在寻找的一切。 (nǐ shì gǔ gē ma? yīn wèi nǐ yōng yǒu wǒ yì zhí zài xún zhǎo de yí qiè.) — Is your name Google? Because you’ve got everything I’ve been searching for.
- 你的笑容如同钥匙,打开了我心房的门。 (nǐ de xiào róng rú tóng yào shi, dǎ kāi le wǒ xīn fáng de mén.) — Your smile is like a key, opening the door to my heart.
- 你是我的全球定位系统,因为和你在一起我永远不会迷路。 (nǐ shì wǒ de quán qiú dìng wèi xì tǒng, yīn wèi hé nǐ zài yì qǐ wǒ yǒng yuǎn bú huì mí lù.) — You’re my GPS; I’ll never get lost when I’m with you.
- 如果美丽等同于时间,你就是永恒。 (rú guǒ měi lì děng tóng yú shí jiān, nǐ jiù shì yǒng héng.) — If beauty were time, you’d be an eternity.
Phrases for Flirting in Chinese
Flirting in Chinese, as in any language, involves expressing romantic interest and creating a playful, engaging atmosphere.
As we already saw, compliments make a great way to flirt in Chinese:
你的笑容真迷人。 (nǐ de xiào róng zhēn mí rén.) — Your smile is truly charming.
你的眼睛像星星一样明亮。 (nǐ de yǎn jīng xiàng xīng xing yí yàng míng liàng.) — Your eyes are as bright as stars.
You can also express interest in the person you’re talking to:
你喜欢什么样的活动? (nǐ xǐ huān shén me yàng de huó dòng?) — What kind of activities do you like?
我想更加了解你。 (wǒ xiǎng gèng jiā liǎo jiě nǐ.) — I want to know you better.
Light teasing can be another cute way to flirt with someone you know a bit better (to avoid any hurt feelings):
你是不是变魔法了?每次看到你,其他人都不见了。 (nǐ shì bú shì biàn mó fǎ le? měi cì kàn dào nǐ, qí tā rén dōu bú jiàn le.) — Did you use magic? Every time I see you, everyone else disappears.
你是不是偷走了所有的星星?因为这里好像失去了光芒。 (nǐ shì bú shì tōu zǒu le suǒ yǒu de xīng xīng? yīn wèi zhè lǐ hǎo xiàng shī qù le guāng máng.) — Did you steal all the stars? Because it seems like the light is missing here.
And finally, a playful invitation can land you a date!
我们一起去喝咖啡吧? (wǒ men yì qǐ qù hē kā fēi ba?) — How about we go for coffee together?
你愿意和我一起去看电影吗? (nǐ yuàn yì hé wǒ yì qǐ qù kàn diàn yǐng ma?) — Would you like to go see a movie with me?
Remember, the key to successful flirting is to be genuine, respectful and attentive to the other person’s comfort level. Use these phrases with a light and playful tone, adapting them to the specific context and your own personality. Plus, be receptive to the other person’s cues and respond accordingly.
I also recommend that you find examples of Chinese pick up lines in use by native Chinese speakers, like through the videos on FluentU.
Get out there and get your flirt on with these Chinese pick up lines!
And One More Thing...
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