Tā sòng wǒ yì zhāng qīnshǒu xiě de hèkǎ, lǐqīngqíngyìzhòng.
He gave me a handwritten card - a modest gift, but heartfelt.
Tips
history
The phrase appears in Yuan-dynasty drama and Ming-Qing fiction, and in the folk proverb 千里送鹅毛，礼轻情意重 ('a goose feather sent from afar - the gift is slight but the sentiment runs deep'). It politely frames a modest present as carrying genuine feeling.
usage
A polite set phrase used when giving a gift; the giver or a bystander uses it to say the present is small but the intention behind it is heartfelt.
