Translation help for a short phrase please...

[Rubicant]

My girlfriend speaks Mandarin and spoke a short phrase today but didn't want to tell me what it means just yet. I believe it was something affectionate and I think the clue that she gave me was a tip in how it would sound and be spelled phonetically:

"Wo shi huan nee" Or perhaps that's actually the correct spelling of what she said but several translators and google certainly didn't want to work with me on it.

Any help would be appreciated ;)

[semantic nuance]

"Wo shi huan nee"

我喜歡你. I like you.

[Rubicant]

Thank you! When I pasted 我喜歡你 into the chat window to her, man was she surprised =)

[Lu]

Literally 'I like you', but it could be heavier than that, closer to 'I love you'.

Translators didn't work probably because Chinese is written in characters, not roman letters. The pinyin spelling of the phrase is 'Wo xihuan ni'.

[Rubicant]

Wow, well that would certainly be a much bigger deal if she said that. I don't suppose there's a way to find out which way she meant it without asking her directly?

She said each word slowly and in an even tone, but that was probably for my benefit so I could clearly understand the pronunciations.

[imron]

Think of it as meaning I like like you. If it's your girlfriend telling you this, it's unlikely to have any other meaning.

[Lu]

Sorry, can't tell for sure. Either way, the best person to talk to your relationship about is probably your girlfriend, and her words definitely mean that she likes you a lot.

[renzhe]

Wow, well that would certainly be a much bigger deal if she said that. I don't suppose there's a way to find out which way she meant it without asking her directly?

It doesn't have two separate meanings. When spoken by your girlfriend, it means she likes you a lot. What Lu meant is that the phrase is a bit stronger and less casual than in English in this context.

There is a different way to say "I love you", but that one is much stronger.