Regrets in Chinese

In my humble opinion, the Italian composer (意大利作曲家 Yìdàlì zuòqǔ jiā ) Enrico Toselli’s Nightingale Serenade is one of the most beautiful melodies that can pull on your heartstrings and stir your soul. Whether played on the violin or on the piano, it can convey to you a feeling of the regret of lost love and the yearning for what is no more. The vocal version is more concise and not as repetitive.

Here is my Chinese interpretation, and I think it follows the original lyrics quite closely.

爱的回忆
Ài de huíyì
The reminiscence of love,

像金色的梦,
xiàng jīnsè de mèng,
like a golden dream,

虽已成過去,
suī yǐ chéng guòqù,
although a thing of the past,

但依然深深地刻在心里.
dàn yīrán shēn shēn di kè zài xīnli.
is still deeply engraved in my heart.

依稀看见
Yīxī kànjiàn
I can vaguely see

你那微笑的脸庞;
nǐ nà wéixiào de liǎnpáng;
your smiling face;

无限的欢乐
wúxiàn de huānlè
and the boundless joy

点亮了我们青春的时光.
diǎn liàngle wǒmen qīngchūn de shíguāng.
that lit up our happy youth.

一切瞬间消灭了;
Yīqiè shùnjiān xiāomiè liǎo;
Everything was wiped out instantly;

爱的蜜汁干枯了.
ài de mì zhī gānkū liǎo.
the nectar of love has dried up.

好梦一场
Hǎo mèng yī chǎng
The sweet dream

换来满心痛苦和悲伤.
huàn lái mǎnxīn tòngkǔ hé bēishāng.
left me with a heart full of pain and sorrow.

前途多晦暗!
Qiántú duō huì’àn!
What gloom lies before me!

教我懊悔不堪.
Jiào wǒ àohuǐ bùkān.
It makes me regret unbearably.

岁月不返,
Suìyuè bù fǎn,
Time doesn’t return,

独自愁肠断.
dúzì chóu cháng duàn.
and I’m alone and heartbroken.

你是我唯一良伴.
Nǐ shì wǒ wéiyī liáng bàn.
You are my only ideal companion.

没有了你, 这世界多么黯淡.
Méiyǒule nǐ, zhè shìjiè duōme àndàn.
Without you, this world is dark and bleak.

啊！我心爱的阳光！
A! Wǒ xīn’ài di yángguāng!
Ah! My beloved sunshine!

你不再照耀我的前程.
Nǐ bù zài zhàoyào wǒ de qiánchéng.
You no longer illuminate my future

今世, 今生!
Jīnshì, jīnshēng!
in this life, ever.

一场 (yī chǎng) means a bout, a scene, an episode or an occurrence of some event. 一场好戏 (yī chǎng hǎo xì) means a good show. When spoken sarcasticaly, it refers to some funny or scandalour incident.

悲伤 (bēishāng) can be used as a noun (sorrow), a verb (to be sad) or adjective (being sad).

前途 (qiántú ) and 前程 (qiánchéng) both mean the road ahead. These words refer to the future or what lies ahead.

消灭 (xiāomiè) means to destroy, eradicate or to perish.

晦暗 (huì’àn) and 黯淡 (àndàn) both refer to a dim and gloomy condition.

后悔 (hòuhuǐ), 懊悔 (àohuǐ), and 悔恨 (huǐhèn) are different ways of saying regret or remorse, increasing in intensity.

后悔来不及.
Hòuhuǐ láibují.
Too late to regret.

愁肠寸断 (chóu cháng cùn duàn) is a Chinese idiom describing the extent of one’s sadness, likening it to having one’s insides broken into pieces.

陪伴 (péibàn) means to accompany or to keep somebody company. 伴侣 (bànlǚ) are companions. 良 (liáng) and 良好 (liánghǎo) mean good. Therefore, 良伴 (liáng bàn) is a good companion. 爱情 (àiqíng) means feelings of love. Therefore, 情伴 (qíng bàn) and 情侣 (qínglǚ) are lovers.

今世今生 (jīnshì jīnshēng), 今生今世 (jīnshēng jīnshì), or 此生 (cǐshēng) means in this life, or as long as I live.

今生今世我再也不想见到他了.
Jīnshēng jīnshì wǒ zài yě bùxiǎng jiàn dào tā le.
As long as I live, I never want to see him again.

On this Valentine’s Day, I suppose you’d expect to hear something like the following instead:

今生今世我将永远爱你.
Jīnshēng jīnshì wǒ jiāng yǒngyuǎn ài nǐ.
In this life I shall forever love you.

How to say “I hate you” in Chinese?

The opposite of 我爱你. (Wǒ ài nǐ. I love you.) is 我恨你. ( Wǒ hèn nǐ. I hate you.)

恨 (hèn) is to hate or to regret. This word can also serve as a noun, meaning hatred. As with love, there are various flavors of hatred and resentment. 怨 (yuàn) as a verb means to blame or to complain. As a noun, it means resentment or antagonism. And 怨恨 (yuànhèn) means to hold a grudge against someone, or the resentment or grudge itself. 仇恨 (chóuhèn) is hatred between enemies. A deep-seated bitter hatred is called 深仇大恨 (shēnchóudàhèn).

恼恨 (nǎohèn) is to hate and feel bothered. 痛恨 (tònghèn) is to utterly hate someone or something. 憎恨 (zēnghèn) means to detest. 嫉妒 (jídù) is to be jealous of someone. Therefore, 嫉恨 (jíhèn) is to hate out of envy. 愤恨 (fènhèn) is to hate with indignation. These words can also be used as nouns, as the following example shows:

他的眼神露出无限憎恨.
Tā de yǎnshén lùchū wúxiàn zēnghèn.
The expression in his eyes revealed immeasurable detestation.

In the above sentence, 无限 means without limit, or infinite.

怀恨 (huáihèn), or 记恨 (jíhèn), means to nurse a hatred or resentment.

他对你怀恨在心.
Tā duì nǐ huáihèn zài xīn.
He bears deep grudges towards you.

可恨 (kěhèn) is an adjective that means abominable.

那小偷真可恨.
Nà xiǎotōu zhēn kěhèn.
That thief is really despictable.

The phrase 恨不得 (hènbude) expresses a great desire to achieve an unlikely result or effect and the regret of not being able to do so.

我恨不得马上飞到你身边.
Wǒ hènbude mǎshàng fēi dào nǐ shēnbiān.
I wish I could fly over right away to be by your side.

后悔 (hǒuhuǐ) means to regret or to feel remorseful. Therefore, 悔恨 (huǐhèn) means to be deeply remorseful. Here, the “resentment” is towards oneself.

我后悔没有打电话给他.
Wǒ hǒuhuǐ méiyǒu dǎdiànhuà gěi tā.
I regret not having called him.

对于那事件, 我感到非常悔恨.
Duìyú nà shìjiàn, wǒ gǎndào fēicháng huǐhèn.
I feel extremely sorry about that incident.

Please note that when by “hating” you mean “being displeased”, you should use 不高兴 (bù gāoxìng) rather than 恨 (hèn).

我不高兴他又迟到了.
Wǒ bù gāoxìng tā yòu chídào le.
I hate that he’s late again.

What else will irk you?