Breaking up & heartbreak in Chinese 分手失恋
fēnshǒu shīliàn
Break up in Chinese is 分手 (fēn shǒu).
Also searched for as: break up, breakup, heartbreak, dumped, heartbroken, getting over someone.
Endings, tears, and the long road to moving on. 15 essential breaking up & heartbreak words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
To break up in Chinese is 分手 (fēn shǒu), literally "to part hands", and the heartbreak afterwards is 失恋 (shī liàn), "to lose love". Whether you 提分手 (tí fēn shǒu), bring it up, or 被甩 (bèi shuǎi), get dumped, the vocabulary takes you from blocking an ex, 拉黑 (lā hēi), to finally 走出来 (zǒu chū lái), getting over it. Friends will always remind you: 下一个更好 (xià yī ge gèng hǎo).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 分手 | fēn shǒu | to break up |
| 失恋 | shī liàn | to be heartbroken (after a breakup) |
| 被甩 | bèi shuǎi | to be dumped |
| 提分手 | tí fēn shǒu | to bring up breaking up |
| 心碎 | xīn suì | heartbroken |
| 我们不合适 | wǒ men bù hé shì | we're not right for each other |
| 你是个好人 | nǐ shì ge hǎo rén | you're a nice person (the classic let-down) |
| 前男友 | qián nán yǒu | ex-boyfriend |
| 前女友 | qián nǚ yǒu | ex-girlfriend |
| 拉黑 | lā hēi | to block |
| 删好友 | shān hǎo yǒu | to delete someone (on social media) |
| 复合 | fù hé | to get back together |
| 放下 | fàng xià | to let go |
| 走出来 | zǒu chū lái | to get over it; to move on |
| 下一个更好 | xià yī ge gèng hǎo | the next one will be better |
Usage tips
- 你是个好人 (nǐ shì ge hǎo rén), "you're a nice person", is so well known as a gentle rejection that being handed a "good-person card", 发好人卡 (fā hǎo rén kǎ), is a joke in itself.
- 拉黑 (lā hēi) means blocking someone so they can't contact you, while 删好友 (shān hǎo yǒu) removes them from your contacts. On WeChat both are common ways to make a clean break.
- 失恋 (shī liàn) describes how you feel after a breakup, whoever ended it. You'd say 我失恋了 (wǒ shī liàn le) to explain why you're down, but 我们分手了 (wǒ men fēn shǒu le) to report the facts.
Common mistakes
- Learners say 我分手他 (wǒ fēn shǒu tā), but 分手 doesn't take an object. Say 我跟他分手了 (wǒ gēn tā fēn shǒu le).
- Learners say 以前的朋友 (yǐ qián de péng you) for "my ex", but that just means an old friend. Use 前任 (qián rèn), or 前男友 (qián nán yǒu) and 前女友 (qián nǚ yǒu).
Mini dialogue
- A你最近怎么了？好像不太开心。Nǐ zuì jìn zěn me le? Hǎo xiàng bù tài kāi xīn.What's up with you lately? You don't seem very happy.
- B我失恋了。上周他跟我提分手了。Wǒ shī liàn le. Shàng zhōu tā gēn wǒ tí fēn shǒu le.I've had my heart broken. Last week he said he wanted to break up.
- A啊？为什么？Á? Wèi shén me?What? Why?
- B他说我们不合适。我已经把他拉黑了。Tā shuō wǒ men bù hé shì. Wǒ yǐ jīng bǎ tā lā hēi le.He said we're not right for each other. I've already blocked him.
- A别难过了，下一个更好！Bié nán guò le, xià yī ge gèng hǎo!Don't be sad, the next one will be better!
Example sentences
- 我觉得我们还是分手吧。I think we should break up.
- 她失恋了，一直在哭。She's just had her heart broken and can't stop crying.
- 我昨天被甩了。I got dumped yesterday.
- 是她先提分手的。She was the one who brought up breaking up.
- 听到这个消息，我心碎了。My heart broke when I heard.
- 对不起，我们不合适。I'm sorry, we're not right for each other.
- 她只说了一句“你是个好人”。All she said was "You're a really nice person."
- 我昨天碰到前男友了。I bumped into my ex yesterday.
- 他还忘不了前女友。He still isn't over his ex.
- 我把他拉黑了。I've blocked him.
- 分手后她就删好友了。She deleted me right after we broke up.
- 你们还会复合吗？Will you two get back together?
- 过去的就放下吧。Let go of the past.
- 我花了半年才走出来。It took me six months to get over it.
- 别哭了，下一个更好！Don't cry, the next one will be better!
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Breaking up & heartbreak speaking island has 8 everyday questions about breaking up & heartbreak to prepare your own answers to.