Mandarin learning guide
Learn with 今天明天
This song looks back through photos and time, then returns to the present with a repeated reminder: today and tomorrow still have to be faced. The lyric language is simple, but it carries a clear contrast between what has changed and what remains hard to accept.
What to listen for
The lyric moves from looking at old phone photos to noticing that years have passed, then broadens into reflections on time, loss, and the way people change. Repeated pairs like “今天 明天” and “晴天 雨天” frame an inner effort to face life as it is, while lines about scars, innocence, and naivety show what time takes away. The final lines shift from general reflection to a more personal statement that what was once shared has already changed.
- Recognize how the lyric uses paired time words and weather words to build contrast.
- Understand key verbs for memory, change, and facing something emotionally difficult.
- Read the repeated chorus as a statement about accepting change, not as a literal action scene.
How the song moves
Opening memory
The lyric starts with a phone photo and immediately moves to noticing age and distance from a former classmate.
Chorus contrast
“今天 明天” and “晴天 雨天” repeat as paired ideas, followed by the speaker trying to face reality and lacking energy to look back.
Reflection on time
The middle section says time takes away scars, innocence, and naivety, while another repeated line asks where what remains will be.
Closing personal shift
The ending returns to “想哭就哭 想睡就睡,” then narrows to “曾经的我们如今” and the fact that everyone has changed.
Translation choices
发现自己也长了几岁
- Natural English
- I find that I've aged a few years too.
- Why
- This keeps the reflective tone and the idea that the speaker notices change in themselves over time. '长了几岁' is rendered naturally as aging a few years, not as simply 'grown a few years.'
总是在说服自己面对
- Natural English
- I am always trying to convince myself to face it.
- Why
- The line uses a repeated ongoing pattern, so 'trying to convince myself' captures the self-talk in '说服自己,' and 'face it' matches '面对' without adding a specific object.
想哭就哭 想睡就睡
- Natural English
- Cry when you want to cry, sleep when you want to sleep.
- Why
- This preserves the parallel structure of '想...就...' and sounds natural in English while keeping the direct, permissive tone of the Mandarin.
Useful Mandarin from the song
This phrase expresses noticing age change over time. It is useful when talking about how someone looks or feels after a period has passed.
A common reflective phrase for inner struggle or self-encouragement. It can be used when someone needs to accept something difficult.
This verb phrase is used here for time removing scars, innocence, and naivety. It works broadly for loss or removal in many contexts.
In this lyric it refers to what the speaker sees on screen. Outside the song, it can describe a visual scene, image, or frame.
Listen closely
- The repeated pairings “今天 明天” and “晴天 雨天” should sound like short, deliberate contrasts.
- Listen for the repeated phrase “想哭就哭 想睡就睡,” which sounds like a direct release after heavier reflections.
- Notice how the lyric moves from looking at a phone photo to more abstract words like “时间,” “伤痕,” and “天真.”
Check your understanding
Which phrase in the song shows the speaker trying to accept reality?
Show answer
总是在说服自己面对
How would you say "Cry when you want to cry, sleep when you want to sleep" in the song's pattern?
Show answer
想哭就哭 想睡就睡