<p>&quot;Fall in love with yourself first” is translated as &quot;先愛上自己&quot; which the typical Chinese would never say.</p>
<p>Terms similar to “愛上自己” but with different meanings.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>自戀 (in love with oneself) = narcissism</p>
</li>
<li><p>自愛 (love oneself) = have self-respect</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>先要愛自己 (have to love oneself first) = have to have self-respect first</p>
<p>先要珍惜自己 (have to cherish oneself first ) = Have to take good care of yourself first (be cautious, not to put yourself in harm's way or on the wrong path)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-20T07:33:22.417Z
I'd say this is the most natural translation, and this exact phrasing _is_ [increasingly popular](https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1770639883764008087) on the Chinese Internet, even if it not as mainstream as some other cultural Internet phenomena.
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-20T01:39:07.153Z
2024-03-20T05:21:15.307Z
2024-03-20T05:21:15.307Z
Tang Ho
<p>&quot;爱人前先爱己&quot;(Simplified Chinese) or &quot;愛人前先愛己&quot;(Traditional Chinese).
It's English translation is &quot;Love yourself before you fall in love with others.&quot;
&quot;爱人&quot; means &quot;to love someone&quot;, and &quot;爱己&quot; means &quot;to love yourself&quot;, and &quot;前..先&quot; refers to a relation between two movement. &quot;前&quot; means &quot;before&quot;, and &quot;先&quot; means &quot;firstly&quot;.
In China, people say &quot;爱别人之前先爱你自己&quot;, which means the same, but more colloquial and doesn't look like a quote or motto. &quot;爱人前先爱己&quot; is more concise and suitable for a tatoo.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-20T13:05:52.730Z
2024-03-20T13:18:46.390Z
2024-03-20T13:18:46.390Z
HXSKDB
<p>&quot;Know thyself&quot; is a very famous philosophical maxim.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Know thyself&quot; (Greek: Γνῶθι σαυτόν, gnōthi sauton) is a philosophical
maxim which was inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo in the ancient
Greek precinct of Delphi.</p>
<p>( Or, in its uncontracted form: Γνῶθι σεαυτόν, gnōthi se auton. In
Latin works, the phrase is commonly translated nōsce tē ipsum.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Carved on the temple of Delphi was &quot;Know thyself&quot;.<br />
特尔斐神庙上刻有“了解你自己”这句话。</p>
<p>Along the lines of the Delphic inscription, we could write:</p>
<p>Love thyself first<br />
先爱你自己</p>
<p>有时候你会听别人说你只有先爱自己才能期盼别人爱你。<br />
Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself.</p>
<p>But, to quote Tina Turner: &quot;What's love got to do with it?&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-20T06:42:26.297Z
2024-03-20T06:42:26.297Z
Pedroski
<p>I agree with tang ho fully, while you can physically say this phrase in chinese and it would be understood in proper context, it is antithesis to popular chinese context.  Therefore no matter how accurate the translation is, people will probably interpret it differently, to match popular chinese mentality of what makes sense.  I would recommend considering a language that is more natural for such a phrase, the original english being a good choice since it will be understood with no need to alter it.</p>
<p>That all said, I will offer a potential translation of something like 自立注意保重. This still sounds unnatural in chinese full clarity, again probably any version will, but I think at least it will convey your intended meaning slightly better.  Literally meaning something like stand strong by paying attention to taking care of yourself ((unnatural because take care of yourself is never ever aimed at yourself, only aimed as an advice to show care for others.  It will be understood though, pretty much exact mentality you want to capture, just not normally aimed inward)).</p>
<p>As always I recommend at least three opinions on anything permanent, and in this case I recommend way more as its such a tough phrase.  Any starting point phrase will probably want heavy refinement to try for the best possible outcome.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-03-20T05:04:18.983Z
2024-03-20T05:04:18.983Z
zagrycha
<p>I don’t wanna use google translate or other apps because i’m scared to get it wrong. i’ve seen cherish yourself but for a back tattoo i want it to say the full thing</p>

<translation>
How do you write “fall in love with yourself first” in chinese
# How do you write “fall in love with yourself first” in chinese

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-03-20)

I don’t wanna use google translate or other apps because i’m scared to get it wrong. i’ve seen cherish yourself but for a back tattoo i want it to say the full thing

**Tags:** translation

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-03-20. Score: 3

"Fall in love with yourself first” is translated as "先愛上自己" which the typical Chinese would never say.

Terms similar to “愛上自己” but with different meanings.

* 自戀 (in love with oneself) = narcissism
* 自愛 (love oneself) = have self-respect

先要愛自己 (have to love oneself first) = have to have self-respect first

先要珍惜自己 (have to cherish oneself first ) = Have to take good care of yourself first (be cautious, not to put yourself in harm's way or on the wrong path)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: I'd say this is the most natural translation, and this exact phrasing _is_ [increasingly popular](https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1770639883764008087) on the Chinese Internet, even if it not as mainstream as some other cultural Internet phenomena.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-03-20. Score: 1

"爱人前先爱己"(Simplified Chinese) or "愛人前先愛己"(Traditional Chinese).
It's English translation is "Love yourself before you fall in love with others."
"爱人" means "to love someone", and "爱己" means "to love yourself", and "前..先" refers to a relation between two movement. "前" means "before", and "先" means "firstly".
In China, people say "爱别人之前先爱你自己", which means the same, but more colloquial and doesn't look like a quote or motto. "爱人前先爱己" is more concise and suitable for a tatoo.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-03-20. Score: 0

"Know thyself" is a very famous philosophical maxim.

> "Know thyself" (Greek: Γνῶθι σαυτόν, gnōthi sauton) is a philosophical
> maxim which was inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo in the ancient
> Greek precinct of Delphi.
>
> ( Or, in its uncontracted form: Γνῶθι σεαυτόν, gnōthi se auton. In
> Latin works, the phrase is commonly translated nōsce tē ipsum.)

Carved on the temple of Delphi was "Know thyself".  
特尔斐神庙上刻有“了解你自己”这句话。

Along the lines of the Delphic inscription, we could write:

Love thyself first  
先爱你自己

有时候你会听别人说你只有先爱自己才能期盼别人爱你。  
Sometimes you'll hear people say that you can't expect someone else to love you until you love yourself.

But, to quote Tina Turner: "What's love got to do with it?"


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2024-03-20. Score: 0

I agree with tang ho fully, while you can physically say this phrase in chinese and it would be understood in proper context, it is antithesis to popular chinese context. Therefore no matter how accurate the translation is, people will probably interpret it differently, to match popular chinese mentality of what makes sense. I would recommend considering a language that is more natural for such a phrase, the original english being a good choice since it will be understood with no need to alter it.

That all said, I will offer a potential translation of something like 自立注意保重. This still sounds unnatural in chinese full clarity, again probably any version will, but I think at least it will convey your intended meaning slightly better. Literally meaning something like stand strong by paying attention to taking care of yourself ((unnatural because take care of yourself is never ever aimed at yourself, only aimed as an advice to show care for others. It will be understood though, pretty much exact mentality you want to capture, just not normally aimed inward)).

As always I recommend at least three opinions on anything permanent, and in this case I recommend way more as its such a tough phrase. Any starting point phrase will probably want heavy refinement to try for the best possible outcome.


---

