Being able to voice your opinion in Chinese allows you to have deeper conversations with people. There are many ways to express your point of view in Chinese other than just the plain 我觉得 wǒ juédé and 我认为 wǒ rènwéi, which gets repetitive after a while. Adding a few variations and new Chinese phrases to your repertoire will enable you to express your opinion more eloquently and spice up your otherwise normal conversations. (Note: if you are having trouble reading the example sentences, please download Zhongwen Popup Dictionary for Chrome or Perapera Chinese Popup Dictionary for Firefox).
个人 gèrén
A simple but easy way to add some variation to the plain 我觉得 and 我认为 is to add 个人 gèrén after 我 wǒ. 个人 means “individual,” “personal,” or “oneself.” When used in conjunction with 我觉得 and 我认为, it can mean “personally, I think” or “as for me personally.”
我个人觉得她十分漂亮。
Wǒ gèrén juédé tā shífēn piàoliang
Personally, I think she is very beautiful.
我觉得他有几分像个诗人。
wǒ juéde tā yǒu jǐ fēn xiàng ge shīrén.
I think he is something of a poet.
我个人觉得不是这样的。
wǒ gèrén juédé búshì zhèyàng de.
Personally, I don’t think it’s like this.
我个人觉得可以邀请他。
wǒ gèrén rènwéi kéyǐ yāoqǐng tā.
Personally, I think we can invite him.
我个人认为这个会发生问题。
wǒ gèrén rènwéi zhège huì fāshēng wèntí.
Personally I think that this will cause a problem.
我个人认为人们不应该喝酒。
wǒ gèrén rènwéi rénmen bú yìng gāi hējiǔ.
Personally, I believe people should not drink.
在我看来 zài wǒ kàn lái
The next useful Chinese phrase to express your point of view is 在我看来 zài wǒ kàn lái. This can be translated as “in my opinion,” “in my view,” “to me,” or “as I see it.” It usually goes at the beginning of a sentence but can also go after the subject or topic.
在我看来，这是一个大错误。
zài wǒ kàn lái，zhè shì yígè dà cuòwù.
In my view, this is a big mistake.
在我看来很有意思！
zài wǒ kànlái hěn yǒuyì sī！
It seems interesting to me.
在我看来，领导力和生产力紧密相关。
zài wǒ kàn lái ， lǐngdǎo lì hé shēngchǎnlì jǐnmì xiāngguān
As I see it, leadership and productivity are very closely linked.
在我看来买彩票是浪费钱。
zài wǒ kàn lái mǎi cǎipiào shì làngfèi qián.
In my opinion, buying lottery tickets is a waste of money.
这样做在我看来很好。
zhèyàng zuò zài wǒ kàn lái hén hǎo.
It seems good to me to do it this way.
在我看来，他是有道理的。
zài wǒ kànlái ， tā shì yǒu dàolǐ de 。
In my opinion, he is correct.
在我看来她出事都是你的错。
zài wǒ kàn lái tā chūshì dōu shì nǐ de cuò.
It seems to me that her accident is all your fault.
在我看来，这个问题很难解决。
zài wǒ kànlái ， zhège wèntí hěn nánjiě jué 。
In my opinion, it would be difficult to solve this problem.
对我来说 duì wǒ lái shuō
A common way of expressing your opinion is to preface your sentence with 对我来说 duì wǒ lái shuō. You can also place this phrase after the subject or topic of the sentence. It means “as far as I’m concerned,” “as for me,” or “for me.” This phrase is very useful in conversations and is a natural way to express your opinion.
这对我来说是一个挑战。
zhè duì wǒ lái shuō shì yígè tiǎozhàn.
This is a challenge for me.
这对我来说是好消息。
zhè duì wǒ lái shuō shì hǎo xiāoxī.
This is good news for me.
这本书对我来说没有什么意思。
zhè běnshū duì wǒ lái shuō méiyǒu shé me yìsi.
As for me, this book is not at all interesting.
上海这个城市对我来说太陌生了。
Shànghǎi zhège chéngshì duì wǒ lái shuō tài mòshēngle.
Shanghai is too foreign for me.
对我来说这个报告太深奥了。
duì wǒ lái shuō zhège bàogào tài shēn’àole.
This report was too esoteric for me.
理解这个问题对我来说太难了。
Lǐjiě zhège wèntí duì wǒ lái shuō tài nánle.
It is difficult for me to understand the question.
哲学对我来说太深奥了。
zhéxué duì wǒ lái shuō tài shēn’àole.
Philosophy is too abstruse for me.
这对我来说并不容易。
zhè duì wǒ lái shuō bìng bú róngyì.
This is definitely not easy for me.
对我来说这是个大决定。
duì wǒ lái shuō zhè shìgè dà juédìng.
This is a big decision for me.
对我来说那总有点麻烦。
duì wǒ lái shuō, nà zǒng yǒudiǎn máfan.
That has always been a bit troublesome for me.
对我来说她是世界上最美丽的女孩。
duì wǒ lái shuō tā shì shìjiè shàng zuì měilì de nǚhái.
As far as I’m concerned, she is the most beautiful girl in the world.
对我而言 duì wǒ ér yán
A more refined variation of 对我来说 is 对我而言 duì wǒ ér yán. 言 yán is roughly the same as 说 shuō but is derived from classical Chinese. This phrase sounds more sophisticated and suitable for formal settings likes speeches or written compositions.
对我而言，生活很简单，爱就是一切。
duì wǒ ér yán ， shēnghuó hěn jiǎndān ， ài jiùshì yíqiè.
For me, life is very simple. Love is all that matters.
搬家对我而言已经成了常事。
bānjiā duì wǒ ér yán yǐjīng chéngle chángshì.
Moving had become a common experience for me.
这处地方对我而言很特别。
zhè chǔ dìfāng duì wǒ ér yán hěn tèbié.
This place is very special to me.
对我而言世界上最重要的人是我的妻子。
Duì wǒ ér yán shìjiè shàng zuì zhòngyào de rén shì wǒ de qīzi.
The most important person to me in the world is my wife.
对我而言，却是做不到。
duì wǒ ér yán ， què shì zuò bú dào.
As for me, it is indeed impossible.
对我而言，这两个国家的文化没有什么根本的区别。
duì wǒ éryán ， zhè liǎng ge guójiā de wénhuà méiyǒu shénme gēnběn de qūbié 。
To me, there aren’t any fundamental differences between the cultures of these two countries.
并不是我不喜欢你的英语，只是对我而言，利用每一个可能的机会来练习俄语很重要。
bìng bú shì wǒ bù xǐhuān nǐ de yīngyǔ ， zhǐ shì duì wǒ éryán ， lìyòng měiyíge kěnéng de jīhuì lái liànxí éyǔ hěn zhòngyào 。
It’s not that I don’t like your English, but for me it’s important to use every opportunity to practice Russian.
就个人而言 jiù gèrén ér yán
Finally, a variation that includes 个人 and 而言 is 就个人而言 jiù gèrén ér yán, which means the same as the previous Chinese phrases but is very formal and classical. The 就 jiù is the same as 对 duì and can be thought of as “take me for example” or “for me personally.” It can also be simply translated as “personally.”
就个人而言，我不介意。
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ bú jièyì
Personally, I don’t mind.
就个人而言，我从没见过不明飞行物
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ cóng méi jiànguò bu míng fēixíng wù
Personally, I’ve never seen a UFO.
就个人而言，我不介意付出较高的税收。
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ bù jièyì fùchū jiào gāo de shuìshōu.
Personally I don’t mind paying higher taxes.
就个人而言，我完全赞成该计划。
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ wánquán zànchéng gāi jìhuà.
Personally, I wholeheartedly approve of the plan.
就个人而言，我 认为他是个很好的人, 但你也许不同意.
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ rènwéi tā shìgè hén hǎo de rén, dàn nǐ yéxǔ bú tóngyì.
Personally, I think he is a very good person, but you may not agree.
就个人而言，那些品质对于我们中学生都是很必要的。
jiù gèrén ér yán ， nàxiē pǐnzhí duìyú wǒmen zhōngxuéshēng dōu shì hěn bìyào de.
Personally speaking, those qualities are necessary for our middle school students.
就个人而言，我发现他有点蠢。
jiù gèrén ér yán ， wǒ fāxiàn tā yǒudiǎn chǔn.
Personally, I realized that is a bit stupid.
就我个人而言，我同意这点。
jiù wǒ gèrén ér yán ， wǒ tóngyì zhè diǎn.
Personally, I agree on this point.
Photo: Héctor García