『我是不是你最疼爱的人』 is one of my favorite Chinese songs. It is also a good source to practice Chinese vocabulary and grammar.

『我是不是你最疼爱的人』 was originally preformed by the Taiwanese singer 潘越雲 (Pān Yuèyún) in the 80’s:

我是不是你最疼爱的人

从来就没冷过　因为有你在我身后

你总是轻声地说　黑夜有我
你总是默默承受　这样的我不敢怨尤

现在为了什么　不再看我

我是不是你最疼爱的人　你为什么不说话
握住是你冰冷的手　动也不动让我好难过
我是不是你最疼爱的人　你为什么不说话
当我需要你的时候　你却沉默不说

从来就没冷过　因为有你挡住寒冻

你总是在我身后　带着笑容
你总是细心温柔　呵护守候这样的我

现在是为了什么　不再看我

我是不是你最疼爱的人　你为什么不说话
握住是你冰冷的手　动也不动让我好难过
我是不是你最疼爱的人　你为什么不说话
当我需要你的时候　你却沉默不说

你最心疼我把眼哭红

记得你曾说过　不让我委屈泪流

我是不是你最疼爱的人　你为什么不说话
当我需要你的时候　你却沉默不说

 

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén

Cónglái jiù méi lěngguò yīnwèi yǒu nǐ zài wǒ shēnhòu

Nǐ zǒng shì qīngshēng de shuō hēiyè yǒu wǒ

Nǐ zǒng shì mòmò chéngshòu zhèyàng de wǒ bù gǎn yuàn yóu

Xiànzài wèile shénme bù zài kàn wǒ

 

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén nǐ wèishéme bù shuōhuà

Wò zhù shì nǐ bīnglěng de shǒudòng yě bù dòng ràng wǒ hǎo nánguò

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén nǐ wèishéme bù shuōhuà

Dāng wǒ xūyào nǐ de shíhòu nǐ què chénmò bù shuō

 

Cónglái jiù méi lěngguò yīnwèi yǒu nǐ dǎngzhù hán dòng

Nǐ zǒng shì zài wǒ shēnhòu dàizhe xiàoróng

Nǐ zǒng shì xìxīn wēnróu hēhù shǒuhòu zhèyàng de wǒ

Xiànzài shì wèile shénme bù zài kàn wǒ

 

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén nǐ wèishéme bù shuōhuà

Wò zhù shì nǐ bīnglěng de shǒudòng yě bù dòng ràng wǒ hǎo nánguò

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén nǐ wèishéme bù shuōhuà

Dāng wǒ xūyào nǐ de shíhòu nǐ què chénmò bù shuō

 

Nǐ zuì xīnténg wǒ bǎ yǎn kū hóng

Jìdé nǐ céng shuōguò bù ràng wǒ wěiqu lèi liú

 

Wǒ shì bùshì nǐ zuì téng’ài de rén nǐ wèishéme bù shuōhuà

Dāng wǒ xūyào nǐ de shíhòu nǐ què chénmò bù shuō

 

The song begins with reliving delicate memories of love: 从来就没冷过，因为有你在我身后　(cóng lái jiù méi lěng guò, yīn wèi yǒu nǐ zài wǒ shēn hòu, “I never felt cold because you were always behind me”).

从来 (cóng lái) means always, but becomes never when used in negative sentence. In that case it will be followed by 没 (méi), 不 (bù), or 未 (wèi) to indicate negation.

The structure 从来不 + verb expresses something one never do as a habit or rule. For example:

• 我从来不吃早餐，不是为了减肥，是没有这个习惯。

Wǒ cóng lái bu chī zǎo cān, bù shì wèi le jiǎn féi, shì méi yǒu zhè ge xí guàn.

I never eat breakfast, not because I try to lose weight, because I don’t have this

habit.

• 他工作很辛苦，然而从来不叫苦。

Tā gōng zuò hěn xīn kǔ, rán ér cóng lái bu jiào kǔ.

He works hard, but never complains.

The structure 从来没（有） + verb + 过 expresses something one has never done so far. For example:

• 我从来没有吃过这么鲜美的鱼汤。

Wǒ cóng lái méi yǒu chī guò zhè me xiān měi de yú tāng.

I have never eaten such a delicious fish soup.

• 爷爷每天早晨到公园锻炼身体，从来没有间断过。

Yé yé měi tiān zǎo chén dào gōng yuán duàn liàn shēn tǐ, cóng lái méi yǒu jiàn duàn

guò.

Grandpa goes to the park every morning to exercise, he never missed it.

Another word for always – 总是 (zǒng shì) – appears in the next verse: 你总是轻声地说，黑夜有我 (nǐ zǒng shì qīng shēng de shuō, hēi yè yǒu wǒ ,“you’ve always said softly in the dark night you have me”).The adverb 总是 describes a consistently action or situation. It can precede verbs and adjectives. For example:

• 老校长的表情总是那么严肃。

Lǎo xiào zhǎng de biǎo qíng zǒng shì nàme yán sù.

The old principal’s expression is always so serious.

• 老师总是热忱地鼓励和帮助每一个同学。

Lǎo shī zǒng shì rè chén de gǔ lì hé bāng zhù měi yī gè tóng xué.

The teacher always willingly encourages and helps every student.

A third adverb describing time appears in the third stanza: 曾 (céng).曾 indicates something that happened once. The singer nostalgically recalls what her spouse had once told her: 记得你曾说过，不让我委屈泪流 (jì dé nǐ céng shuō guò, bù ràng wǒ wěi qu lèi liú, “I remember you’ve once told me that you won’t mistreat me”).曾 can appears as two characters phrase – 曾经 (céng jīng), and frequently pairs with 过 or 了. For example:

• 我们曾经一起去过 。

Wǒ men céng jīng yī qǐ qù guò.

We’ve once been there together.

The song describes great love and a supportive spouse. The repeated parallelism between never (从来) and always (总是) portrays a stable relationship. But this love song doesn’t have a happy ending. Unfulfilled promises leave the woman broken hearted. The sentence that seals the poem expresses her pain: 当我需要你的时候，你却沉默不说 (dāng wǒ xū yào nǐ de shí hòu, nǐ què chén mò bù shuō, “when I needed you the most you were silent”).

The structure 当。。。的时候 is used when talking about events that happened at or during a particular time. It is used in complex sentence with two clauses at least. The clause uses this structure serves as time frame to the other clause. For example:

• 当夜深的时候，我就会想起我的故乡。

Dàng yè shēn de shí hòu, wǒ jiù huì xiǎng qǐ wǒ de gù xiāng.

At night, I think about my hometown.

• 当妈妈不在家的时候， 我自己做饭。

Dāng māmā bù zàijiā de shíhòu, wǒ zìjǐ zuò fàn.

When my mom is not at home, I cook for myself.

The Chinese language has gendered pronouns, but it’s a genderless language in the sense of having no noun class distinctions and verbal conjugations. Only two pronouns appear in the song: 我 (I) and 你 (you). The song was originally performed by a female singer, but according to the lyrics both the speaker and the addressee can be female or male.

Grammatically, the four options are correct. This classical love song received many covers by men. I like the cover of李代沫 (Lǐ Dàimò):

Another male cover was performed in the first season of The Voice of China (中国好声音):

And by a girl in the second season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c3Srx_qg2c

 

好好学习，天天向上！

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