<p>I don't think there is an exact counterpart for this phrase in Chinese. A few similar ones come to my mind:</p>

<ul>
<li>Describe 爱情 (love) or 缘分 (chemistry) with 命中注定 (fated), e.g. 命中注定的爱情 (predestined love), 命中注定的缘分 (preordained love luck).</li>
<li>走桃花运 or 命犯桃花 (blessed by peach blossom) means someone is in a lucky streak for love affairs.</li>
<li>真命天子/真命天女 (Heaven ordained lad/lass) means Mr./Ms. Right.</li>
</ul>

<p>Since there are more and more imported words from Japan, simply using 恋之预感 as a Chinese phrase can be understood by a lot of people. Actually this usage already took place in pop song lyrics as well as internet fictions.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T00:22:32.483Z
2013-06-26T00:22:32.483Z
NS.X.
<p>爱情的征兆，that is, the feeling or phenomenon of love is coming. For example, 这可是爱情的征兆哦 means this is a phenomenon of your love is coming. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-12T22:35:39.543Z
征兆 is a pretty good word for this, and probably closer to the actual tone of the Japanese expression.
Michael Lai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-08-12T14:35:40.673Z
2013-08-12T14:35:40.673Z
Eden Harder
<p>I will explain this in another view point :-) And I think it's better to put my conclusion first: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p><code>恋爱的预感</code> or just <code>恋之预感</code> is a perfect translation in Chinese.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Now, let's consider this interesting question:</p>

<pre><code>Why is it said to be untranslatable in English?
</code></pre>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Koi No Yokan (Japanese):</strong> Koi No Yokan is a truly beautiful concept. It can defined <strong><em>the sense</em></strong> can have upon first meeting another person that the two of them are going to fall in love. In other words, it is <strong><em>the knowledge</em></strong> one has that he/she is going to fall in love with another person. This differs from the idea “love at first sight” in that <strong><em>it does not imply that the feeling of love exists, rather it refers to the knowledge that a future love is inevitable.</em></strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think the essentials of the concept of <code>恋の予感</code> are</p>

<ol>
<li>It should be a subjective sense, or, intuitive knowledge, about the future. So the word or phrase for <code>予感</code> should be neutral -- it implies neither good future nor bad future.</li>
<li>It should precisely describe the delicate situation that you know the love happens in the future but not at present.</li>
<li><p>Furthermore, in both Japanese and Chinese, <code>恋</code> is not equal to <code>愛</code>. In Japanese, <a href="http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/71244/m0u/%E6%81%8B/" rel="noreferrer">恋</a> is</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>特定の異性に強くひかれること。また、切ないまでに深く思いを寄せること。恋愛。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Which means <strong><em>a thing that one is attracted by another special person of the opposite sex, and thinking of him/her very deeply</em></strong>. And in Chinese, it is</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>慕也。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Which means <strong><em>feeling attached to, or being reluctant to part</em></strong>. So, the meaning of <code>恋</code> can be considered the same in Japanese and Chinese. Intuitively speaking, <code>恋</code> is an immature kind of love, green but beautiful. For example, <code>恋人(こいびと)</code> is not <strong>lover</strong> (愛人) but rather <strong>boy/girl friend</strong> (see <a href="http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/srch/je/%E6%81%8B%E4%BA%BA/m0u/" rel="noreferrer">goo辞書</a>). It reflects one aspect of the eastern culture: being veiled to the emotion of love.</p></li>
</ol>

<p><strong>Thus, for Chinese,</strong> there isn't any culture barrier in the meanings of 恋 or 予感, besides, 恋爱的预感/恋之预感 makes sense in Chinese. So I said, 恋爱的预感/恋之预感 is a perfect translation.</p>

<p><strong>For English,</strong> I found one translation on <a href="http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E6%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%88%E6%84%9F" rel="noreferrer">Weblio英語表現辞典</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>presentiment of a romance</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This would be better than "premonition of love" because it takes Point 3 into consideration. But still, I find presentiment/premonition is often associated to unpleasant future. Maybe <code>sixth sense</code> is a better phrase, though it's informal.</p>

<p><strong>EDIT</strong></p>

<p>I check through the <em>Roget's International Thesaurus</em> for <strong>premonition</strong>, and find these entries:</p>

<ul>
<li>premonition, presentiment; hunch, feeling in one's bones ... [generally implying something unpleasant, or being informal]</li>
<li>foreboding, apprehension, misgiving ... [implying something bad]</li>
<li>omen, portent, augury, symptom ... [they are not <strong><em>subjective sense</em></strong>]</li>
<li>harbinger, forerunner, precursor, herald ... [not <strong><em>subjective sense</em></strong> either]</li>
<li>ominousness, portentousness, portent ... [something bad]</li>
<li>inauspiciousness, unpropitiousness, unfavorableness ... [something bad]</li>
<li>auspiciousness, propitiousness, favorableness ... [something good]</li>
</ul>

<p>It seems difficult to find a neutral and subjective and formal word to state 予感/预感 :(</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-10T14:41:22.530Z
Hi Stan, I would like to point out that, while it make sense, "恋之预感" is not a very perfect translation.  恋爱的预感 is way better, where I believe 恋之预感 is alot more Japanese oriented.  This usage of "之" was not publicly used back in the 80's, while Japanese language / culture is not as popular.
Alex
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2015-08-11T02:19:24.303Z
@Alex I have the same feeling, "恋之预感" doesn't sound native enough, but the issue whether "Japanese oriented"'s bad or not, is arguable. Sometimes a translation that sound exotic can remind us the atmosphere. For example, 寿司 and 饭卷, which one is better? I prefer 寿司, hmmm.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-11T16:04:17.900Z
@Stan Yup I agree, 寿司 sounds better than 饭卷.  It's very arguable that, when a term become so popular and people starts to forget the origin, do we insist to 'correct' them.  It sounds weird to use 饭卷, but I dunno if it's a good thing if no one use it anymore.  Same applies to "恋之预感
Alex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T04:24:11.197Z
Thanks for the comments. Your answer shows quite a bit of understanding for both Chinese and Japanese. Do you speak both languages? I think there are a lot of different subtle expressions about emotions in Japanese (interesting since Japanese people don't seem to like expressing them), but I should do some more investigation for Chinese as well.
Michael Lai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T04:53:50.357Z
@MichaelLai: you're welcome :D I'm a native Chinese speaker and I've learnt a little Japanese (though far from proficient). In the traditional eastern culture, emotion should be moderate, so not only Japanese, but also Chinese, Korean and other people in eastern countries, to some extent, are *shy* to express themselves. The subtle expressions about emotion can be found in many Japanese novels, animations, games, and TV plays. It would be convenient to understand Japanese by those works.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T07:19:00.403Z
What about "foreknowledge"?  Sites to look at (sorry I don't know markup) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/foreknowledge and http://zh.wiktionary.org/wiki/foreknowledge
tao
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2013-06-26T08:05:44.373Z
@tao: Good candidate :) But I am not very familiar with English so I don't know whether "foreknowledge of a romance" sounds right and describes such a "koi no yokan" emotion.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T04:02:11.907Z
2013-06-26T04:21:21.863Z
2013-06-26T04:21:21.863Z
Stan
<p>I saw the phrase Koi no yokan described on the website: <a href="http://www.hightowerflashes.com/untranslateablewords.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">High Tower Flashes</a>.</p>

<p>The Japanese phrase means a feeling that you will fall in love with someone, which is different from love at first sight. I don't know if there is an exact equivalent in English ("premonition of love"?), but I would be a bit surprised if there was no Chinese equivalent. Any suggestions?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-08T16:05:09.133Z
Guide to Translate Japanese to Chinese, 1st convert の to 之, 2nd convert kanji to Hanzi(Chinese Character). 3rd(optional) reorder characters if necessary.
sfy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T18:54:34.703Z
After reading Stan's answer I realized an ambiguity within this question (hence why his answer and mine differ in conclusion): are you asking if the phrase is translatable into Chinese, or there is an authentic Chinese word/phrase that represents the same, authentic concept?
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-06-26T22:54:54.407Z
@NS.X: I guess I was wondering if there is an exact equivalent in Chinese, but if there isn't then what would be the best translation.
Michael Lai
<translation><word-requests>
The Chinese equivalent phrase of 恋の予感
# The Chinese equivalent phrase of 恋の予感

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-06-25)

I saw the phrase Koi no yokan described on the website: [High Tower Flashes](http://www.hightowerflashes.com/untranslateablewords.html).

The Japanese phrase means a feeling that you will fall in love with someone, which is different from love at first sight. I don't know if there is an exact equivalent in English ("premonition of love"?), but I would be a bit surprised if there was no Chinese equivalent. Any suggestions?

**Tags:** translation, word-requests

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: After reading username_4's answer I realized an ambiguity within this question (hence why his answer and mine differ in conclusion): are you asking if the phrase is translatable into Chinese, or there is an authentic Chinese word/phrase that represents the same, authentic concept?  
> **username_0**: @NS.X: I guess I was wondering if there is an exact equivalent in Chinese, but if there isn't then what would be the best translation.  
> **username_1**: Guide to Translate Japanese to Chinese, 1st convert の to 之, 2nd convert kanji to Hanzi(Chinese Character). 3rd(optional) reorder characters if necessary.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2013-06-26. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

I will explain this in another view point :-) And I think it's better to put my conclusion first:

> `恋爱的预感` or just `恋之预感` is a perfect translation in Chinese.

Now, let's consider this interesting question:

```
Why is it said to be untranslatable in English?

```

> **Koi No Yokan (Japanese):** Koi No Yokan is a truly beautiful concept. It can defined ***the sense*** can have upon first meeting another person that the two of them are going to fall in love. In other words, it is ***the knowledge*** one has that he/she is going to fall in love with another person. This differs from the idea “love at first sight” in that ***it does not imply that the feeling of love exists, rather it refers to the knowledge that a future love is inevitable.***

I think the essentials of the concept of `恋の予感` are

1. It should be a subjective sense, or, intuitive knowledge, about the future. So the word or phrase for `予感` should be neutral -- it implies neither good future nor bad future.
2. It should precisely describe the delicate situation that you know the love happens in the future but not at present.
3. Furthermore, in both Japanese and Chinese, `恋` is not equal to `愛`. In Japanese, [恋](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/71244/m0u/%E6%81%8B/) is

   > 特定の異性に強くひかれること。また、切ないまでに深く思いを寄せること。恋愛。

   Which means ***a thing that one is attracted by another special person of the opposite sex, and thinking of him/her very deeply***. And in Chinese, it is

   > 慕也。

   Which means ***feeling attached to, or being reluctant to part***. So, the meaning of `恋` can be considered the same in Japanese and Chinese. Intuitively speaking, `恋` is an immature kind of love, green but beautiful. For example, `恋人(こいびと)` is not **lover** (愛人) but rather **boy/girl friend** (see [goo辞書](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/srch/je/%E6%81%8B%E4%BA%BA/m0u/)). It reflects one aspect of the eastern culture: being veiled to the emotion of love.

**Thus, for Chinese,** there isn't any culture barrier in the meanings of 恋 or 予感, besides, 恋爱的预感/恋之预感 makes sense in Chinese. So I said, 恋爱的预感/恋之预感 is a perfect translation.

**For English,** I found one translation on [Weblio英語表現辞典](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E6%81%8B%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%88%E6%84%9F):

> presentiment of a romance

This would be better than "premonition of love" because it takes Point 3 into consideration. But still, I find presentiment/premonition is often associated to unpleasant future. Maybe `sixth sense` is a better phrase, though it's informal.

**EDIT**

I check through the *Roget's International Thesaurus* for **premonition**, and find these entries:

* premonition, presentiment; hunch, feeling in one's bones ... [generally implying something unpleasant, or being informal]
* foreboding, apprehension, misgiving ... [implying something bad]
* omen, portent, augury, symptom ... [they are not ***subjective sense***]
* harbinger, forerunner, precursor, herald ... [not ***subjective sense*** either]
* ominousness, portentousness, portent ... [something bad]
* inauspiciousness, unpropitiousness, unfavorableness ... [something bad]
* auspiciousness, propitiousness, favorableness ... [something good]

It seems difficult to find a neutral and subjective and formal word to state 予感/预感 :(

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the comments. Your answer shows quite a bit of understanding for both Chinese and Japanese. Do you speak both languages? I think there are a lot of different subtle expressions about emotions in Japanese (interesting since Japanese people don't seem to like expressing them), but I should do some more investigation for Chinese as well.  
> **username_4**: @username_0: you're welcome :D I'm a native Chinese speaker and I've learnt a little Japanese (though far from proficient). In the traditional eastern culture, emotion should be moderate, so not only Japanese, but also Chinese, Korean and other people in eastern countries, to some extent, are *shy* to express themselves. The subtle expressions about emotion can be found in many Japanese novels, animations, games, and TV plays. It would be convenient to understand Japanese by those works.  
> **username_6**: What about "foreknowledge"?  Sites to look at (sorry I don't know markup) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/foreknowledge and http://zh.wiktionary.org/wiki/foreknowledge  
> **username_4**: @username_6: Good candidate :) But I am not very familiar with English so I don't know whether "foreknowledge of a romance" sounds right and describes such a "koi no yokan" emotion.  
> **username_5**: Hi username_4, I would like to point out that, while it make sense, "恋之预感" is not a very perfect translation.  恋爱的预感 is way better, where I believe 恋之预感 is alot more Japanese oriented.  This usage of "之" was not publicly used back in the 80's, while Japanese language / culture is not as popular.  
> **username_4**: @username_5 I have the same feeling, "恋之预感" doesn't sound native enough, but the issue whether "Japanese oriented"'s bad or not, is arguable. Sometimes a translation that sound exotic can remind us the atmosphere. For example, 寿司 and 饭卷, which one is better? I prefer 寿司, hmmm.  
> **username_5**: @username_4 Yup I agree, 寿司 sounds better than 饭卷.  It's very arguable that, when a term become so popular and people starts to forget the origin, do we insist to 'correct' them.  It sounds weird to use 饭卷, but I dunno if it's a good thing if no one use it anymore.  Same applies to "恋之预感  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2013-06-26. Score: 1

I don't think there is an exact counterpart for this phrase in Chinese. A few similar ones come to my mind:

* Describe 爱情 (love) or 缘分 (chemistry) with 命中注定 (fated), e.g. 命中注定的爱情 (predestined love), 命中注定的缘分 (preordained love luck).
* 走桃花运 or 命犯桃花 (blessed by peach blossom) means someone is in a lucky streak for love affairs.
* 真命天子/真命天女 (Heaven ordained lad/lass) means Mr./Ms. Right.

Since there are more and more imported words from Japan, simply using 恋之预感 as a Chinese phrase can be understood by a lot of people. Actually this usage already took place in pop song lyrics as well as internet fictions.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2013-08-12. Score: 1

爱情的征兆，that is, the feeling or phenomenon of love is coming. For example, 这可是爱情的征兆哦 means this is a phenomenon of your love is coming.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 征兆 is a pretty good word for this, and probably closer to the actual tone of the Japanese expression.  

---

