I would rather cry in a BMW

I would rather cry in a BMW
Traditional Chinese寧在寶馬車裏哭,也不在自行車上笑
Simplified Chinese宁在宝马车里哭,也不在自行车上笑
Literal meaningRather inside BMW car crying, than be on top of a bike laughing
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinNíng zài Bǎomǎ chē lǐ kū, yě bùzài zìxíngchē shàng xiào

"I would rather cry in a BMW" is a quotation that became an online sensation in the People's Republic of China in 2010. The old, long-familiar phrase was made famous by Ma Nuo, a 20-year-old female contestant on the television dating show Fei Cheng Wu Rao (also known in English as If You Are the One). The line was in response to a question by an unemployed suitor who asked if Ma would "ride a bicycle with him" on a date. The series of events have been summed up in the media with the quip "I would rather cry in a BMW than smile on a bicycle."[1]

  1. ^ "China smitten by TV dating". Retrieved 2022-04-17.