In one sentence, describe what the following article is about:

The phrase "wo ai ni" () is the most literal way to say "I love you" in Chinese. This is considered an expression of extremely strong emotion and is never used casually. Use this phrase to express a lifelong love for someone in a more formal situation or serious occasion. For example, you might say this to your new spouse at your wedding, or on an anniversary. The phrase "wo ai ni" () is not just romantic. It can also be used to express love between family members. However, as with romantic partners, it wouldn't be used off-handedly in a casual setting. A Chinese person would probably look at you strangely if you said "wo ai ni" () to them especially someone you just started dating or have a crush on. A literal translation of the phrase "wo xi huan ni" () would be "I like you," but it is actually the most common way to say "I love you" in Mandarin Chinese. This phrase is also used in more casual situations where "wo ai ni" () would be considered out of place. For example, you might say it to your romantic partner before the two of you go your separate ways. Texting is very popular in China and a text short-hand has emerged to express your feelings for someone using numbers rather than the words themselves (either in Chinese or in English). The numbers are used in place of Chinese characters because the word for the number in Chinese is pronounced roughly the same as the character itself. Some romantic Chinese text message abbreviations include: 520 (wu er ling) stands for "wo ai ni" (I love you) 770 (qi qi ling) stands for "qin qin ni" (kiss you) 880 (ba ba ling) stands for "bao bao ni" (hug you) 530 (wu san ling) stands for "wo xiang ni" (miss you). This phrase can also be interpreted to mean that you're thinking about the person. While it's not Chinese, many Chinese speakers will switch to English when they want to tell someone they love them. Primarily, they do this because the phrase "wo ai ni" () is considered far too strong or too serious. If you're just saying "I love you" in a casual moment, such as when getting off the phone, it would probably be more appropriate to say it in English than to say it in Chinese.

Summary:
Say "wo ai ni" () to literally say "I love you" to someone. Go with "wo xi huan ni" () to express romantic feelings. Use numbers to say "I love you" in a text message. Try simply saying "I love you" in English.