There is a wide variety of “relationships” in the English language but foreigners rarely have the ability to describe the nuances between them when speaking Chinese.  In this post, we help you get beyond the boyfriend/girlfriend stage and learn the more advanced Chinese vocabulary for relationships.  After mastering these words, you will be able to talk about long distance relationships, internet dating, and love-hate relationship with ease.  You could also show your gentle side when you tell your sob story about how your last girlfriend broke your heart.  That will score you major brownie points when you’re looking to start your next relationship.

约会-yuē huì-To date (Verb, Noun)

Literal Translation-Arrange meetting

我和我女朋友从大学的时候就开始约会了。

wǒ hé wǒ nǚpéngyǒu cóng dàxué de shíhòu jiù kāishǐ yuēhuì le。

I started dating my girlfriend when we were both in university.

私房钱-sī fáng qián-Secret stash of money that a spouse hides from their own spouse (Noun)

Literal Translation-Self house money

她存了一些私房钱以防她的丈夫会和她离婚。

tā cún le yìxiē sīfángqián yǐfáng tāde zhàngfu huì hé tā líhūn。

She kept a secrect stash of money in case her husband would divorce her.

空窗期-kōng chuāng qī-Short time after break up where person is still available (Noun)

Literal Translation-Empty window period

我需要现在开始和她说话。空窗期不会持续太久的。

wǒ xūyào xiànzài kāishǐ hé tā shuōhuà。kōngchuāngqī búhuì chíxù tàijiǔ de。

I need to start talking to her now. The break up period will not last long.

黄昏恋-huáng hūn liàn-A romance between two elderly people (Noun)

Literal Translation-Evening love

看见老人之间的黄昏恋是很可爱的。

kànjiàn lǎorén zhījiān de huánghūnliàn shì hěn kěài de。

It is so cute to see romance between elderly people.

跨国恋-kuà guó liàn-A relationship between a Chinese person and a foreigner (Noun)

Literal Translation-Stride country love

对于他们来说，在两种不同的文化之间的跨国恋是很困难的。

duìyú tāmén lái shuō，zài liǎng zhǒng bùtóng de wénhuà zhījiān de kuàguóliàn shì hěn kùnnán de。

It was difficult for them to have a mixed relationship between different cultures.

网恋-wǎng liàn-Internet dating (Noun, Verb)

Literal Translation-Net love

她寻找了很久，但最终只找到了一场网恋。

tā xúnzhǎo le hěnjiǔ，dàn zuìzhōng zhǐ zhǎodào le yì chǎng wǎngliàn。

She has been looking for a long time, but finally found love on the internet.

师生恋-shī shēng liàn-Teacher-student love (Noun)

Literal Translation-Teacher student love

那个大学以频繁发生的师生恋而出名。

nàgè dàxué yǐ pínfán fāshēng de shīshēngliàn ér chūmíng。

The university is known for the teacher student love that happens frequently.

老牛吃嫩草-lǎo niú chī nèn cǎo-A relationship between two people with a larger age difference (Verb)

Literal Translation-Old cow eat fresh grass

那个老男人娶了一个年轻的妻子，每个人都取笑他是老牛吃嫩草。

nàgè lǎonánrén qǔ le yígè niánqīng de qīzǐ，měigè rén dōu qǔxiào tā shì lǎoniúchīnèncǎo。

That old man married such a young woman. Everyone makes fun of their age difference.

姐弟恋-jiě dì liàn-A relationship between an older woman and a much younger man (Noun)

Literal Translation-Elder sisiter younger brither love

她离婚之后和一个比她年轻很多的男人开始了姐弟恋。

tā líhūn zhīhòu hé yígè bǐ tā niánqīng hěn duō de nánrén kāishǐ le jiědìliàn。

After her divorce she started a relationship with a much younger man.

异地恋-yì dì liàn-Long-distance relationship (Noun)

Literal Translation-Different plece love

如果你们不在同一个城市，那么进行一段异地恋是极其艰难的。

rúguǒ nǐmén bú zài tóngyígè chéngshì，nàme jìnxíng yíduàn yìdìliàn shì jíqí jiānnán de。

It is extremely difficult to have a long distance relationship if you don’t live in the same city.

闪婚-shǎn hūn-Describing couples who meet, fall in love, and get married (Verb)

Literal Translation-Flash marriage

他们在网上相遇之后，马上就闪婚了。

tāmén zài wǎngshàng xiāngyù zhīhòu，mǎshàng jiù shǎnhūn le。

After they met on the internet, they got married almost instantly.

两地分居-liǎng dì fēn jū-Long-distance marriage (Verb)

Literal Translation-Two place separate live

两地分居的婚姻谁都不幸福。

liǎngdìfēnjū de hūnyīn shuí dōu bú xìngfú。

Everyone is unhappy in a long distance marriage.

爱恨交加-ài hèn jiāo jiā-Love-hate relationship (Adj)

Literal Translation-Love hate cross

我不知道该怎么办，对她的感情总是爱恨交加。

wǒ bùzhīdào gāi zěnmebàn，duì tā de gǎnqíng zǒngshì àihènjiāojiā。

I don’t know what to do. It’s always a love-hate relationship with her.

心碎-xīn suì-Broken heart (Verb)

当他为了别的女人和我离婚的时候，我心碎了。

dāng tā wèile biéde nǚrén hé wǒ l hūn de shíhòu，wǒ xīnsuì le。

When he divorced me for another woman, it broke my heart.

反目成仇-fǎn mù chéng chóu-Friends fall out and become enemies (Verb)

Literal Translation-Opposite eye become enemy

当我发现她试图跟我的男朋友讲话我就和她发生了争吵，然后反目成仇。

dāng wǒ fāxiàn tā shìtú gēn wǒde nánpéngyǒu jiǎnghuà wǒ jiù hé tā fāshēng le zhēngchǎo，ránhòu fǎnmùchéngchóu。

We fell out and became enemies after I found out she was trying to talk with my boyfriend.