Day 13: Likes and opinions
A genuinely easy day, because 喜欢 behaves exactly like English "like".
我喜欢咖啡。 — I like coffee. (noun) 我喜欢喝咖啡。 — I like drinking coffee. (verb)
★ No ending to build, no particle to choose, and no -ing form to worry about — the verb just follows. (Korean makes you pick between 좋다 and 좋아하다; German makes you rebuild the sentence with gern. Chinese does neither.)
The one thing to learn properly is ★ 不太 — the softener that turns a blunt refusal into a polite one.
1. 喜欢 — like
| 我喜欢咖啡。 | I like coffee |
|---|---|
| 我喜欢中国菜。 | I like Chinese food |
| 我喜欢喝咖啡。 | I like drinking coffee |
| 我喜欢看电影。 | I like watching films |
| 你喜欢什么? | What do you like? |
| 你喜不喜欢? | Do you like it? (A-not-A, Day 6) |
★ The verb after 喜欢 is bare. 喜欢喝咖啡 — no marker, no change. Chinese has no infinitive and no gerund, so there is nothing to convert.
爱 — love
| 我爱你。 | I love you |
|---|---|
| 我爱吃辣。 | ★ I love eating spicy food |
⚠️ 爱 is used more loosely for things than English "love" is for people — 我爱吃火锅 is completely normal. But 我爱你 between people is as weighty as in English, arguably more so. Do not say it casually.
2. ★★ 不太 — how to say no politely
### 不太 bú tài = "not very" — and it is the standard soft refusal.
| Blunt | ★ Polite |
|---|---|
| 我不喜欢。 | 我不太喜欢。 |
| 我不能吃辣。 | 我不太能吃辣。 |
| 我的中文不好。 | 我的中文不太好。 |
| 不好。 | 不太好。 |
★ 不太 does far more work than "not very" does in English. 我不太喜欢 rarely means "I mildly like it" — it usually means "no", said kindly. English speakers under-use it and come across as blunter than they intend.
★ Use 不太 by default whenever you are declining, disagreeing or self-deprecating.It is the single easiest way to sound less abrupt in Chinese.
⚠️ 不太 uses the sandhi'd 不: 不太 = bú tài (before a 4th tone — Day 2).
The scale
| 非常喜欢 | like very much |
|---|---|
| 很喜欢 | like |
| 喜欢 | like |
| 还可以 / 还行 | ★ it's OK, so-so |
| 不太喜欢 | ★ don't really like (= no) |
| 不喜欢 | don't like |
| 讨厌 | hate ⚠️ strong |
★ 还可以 and 还行 are the Chinese "meh" — non-committal, polite, extremely common. — 中国菜怎么样? — 还可以。
3. ★ 觉得 — to think, to feel
### 我觉得 + a whole sentence
| 我觉得很好。 | I think it's good |
|---|---|
| 我觉得中文很难。 | I think Chinese is hard |
| 我觉得这个太贵了。 | I think this is too expensive |
| 你觉得怎么样? | ★ What do you think? |
★ 你觉得怎么样? is the way to ask an opinion, and it works about anything — a film, a dish, a plan, a city.
⚠️ Do not put 是 after 觉得. 我觉得很好, not 我觉得是好 — Day 5's rule still applies inside the clause.
认为 vs 觉得
认为 rènwéi is "to hold the view that" — formal, for opinions and arguments. 觉得 is "to feel that" — everyday. ★ Use 觉得 for everything at this level.
4. ★ 最 — the most
| 我最喜欢中国菜。 | I like Chinese food the most |
|---|---|
| 哪个最好吃? | Which is the tastiest? |
| 最好的朋友 | best friend |
| 最近 | ★ recently ("most near") |
★ 最 goes directly before the adjective or verb — 最喜欢, 最好, 最贵. No 的, no extra words.
And 比 — comparing
### A 比 B + adjective — ⚠️ no 很
| 中文比英文难。 | Chinese is harder than English |
|---|---|
| 这个比那个贵。 | This is more expensive than that |
| 我比他忙。 | I'm busier than him |
⚠️ ★ The 很 disappears in a comparison. 中文比英文很难 ❌ — the comparison itself does the propping-up that 很 usually does (Day 5 §2).
★ 一样 yíyàng = the same: 这个跟那个一样。 (This is the same as that.)
5. Hobbies
| 看电影 | watch films | 听音乐 | listen to music | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 看书 | read | 运动 | exercise | |
| 旅游 | travel | 做饭 | cook | |
| 玩游戏 | play games | 唱歌 | sing | |
| 跑步 | run, jog | 爬山 | hike | |
| 拍照 | take photos | 上网 | go online |
★ Almost all of these are verb + object pairs — 看电影, 听音乐, 做饭, 唱歌. ⚠️ Learn them whole. Saying 我喜欢看 without 电影 is like saying "I like to watch" and stopping.
| 你有什么爱好? | What are your hobbies? |
|---|---|
| 你平时喜欢做什么? | What do you usually like doing? |
| 周末你做什么? | What do you do at the weekend? |
6. Dialogue
小明: 你有什么爱好?Alex: 我喜欢看电影和做饭。你呢?小明: 我喜欢运动。我最喜欢跑步。Alex: 你常常跑吗?小明: 每天早上。你喜欢运动吗?Alex: 我不太喜欢。我觉得跑步太累了。小明: 哈哈。那你喜欢什么电影?Alex: 我最喜欢中国电影。但是我的中文不太好,所以要看字幕。小明: 你觉得中文难吗?Alex: 我觉得中文比英文难,但是很有意思。小明: 那我们周末去看电影,怎么样?Alex: 好啊! 中国菜也可以吗?小明: 当然! 你最喜欢什么菜?Alex: 火锅! 但是不要太辣。
★ 不太 twice, both times meaning "no" politely — 我不太喜欢 and 我的中文不太好.★ 我觉得 twice, introducing a whole clause.★ 中文比英文难 — no 很, exactly as §4 says.★ And 最喜欢 three times — 最 straight in front of the verb.
7. Exercises
A. Translate.
- I like coffee. 2. I like drinking coffee. 3. I like watching films.
- What do you like? 5. Do you like it? (A-not-A)
B. ★ Make it polite with 不太.
- 我不喜欢。 2. 我的中文不好。 3. 我不能吃辣。 4. 不好。
C. 觉得.
- I think it's good. 2. I think Chinese is hard. 3. What do you think?
- I think this is too expensive.
D. ★ 最 or 比?
- I like Chinese food ___. 2. Chinese is harder ___ English.
- Which is ___ tasty? 4. This is more expensive ___ that.
E. ⚠️ Fix the comparison.
- 中文比英文很难。
- 这个比那个很贵。
F. Hobbies — complete the pair.
- 看___ 2. 听___ 3. 做___ 4. 唱___ 5. 玩___
G. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 我喜欢喝的咖啡。
- 我觉得是好。
- 我不喜欢。 (meaning: politely no)
- 我喜欢看。 (meaning: I like watching films)
Answers
A. 1. 我喜欢咖啡。 2. 我喜欢喝咖啡。 3. 我喜欢看电影。 4. 你喜欢什么? 5. 你喜不喜欢? B. 1. 我不太喜欢。 2. 我的中文不太好。 3. 我不太能吃辣。 4. 不太好。 C. 1. 我觉得很好。 2. 我觉得中文很难。 3. 你觉得怎么样? 4. 我觉得这个太贵了。 D. 1. 最 2. 比 3. 最 4. 比 E. 1. 中文比英文难。 2. 这个比那个贵。 — ★ no 很 in a comparison F. 1. 电影 2. 音乐 3. 饭 4. 歌 5. 游戏 G. 1. 我喜欢喝咖啡 — no 的 2. 我觉得很好 — no 是 before an adjective 3. 我不太喜欢 4. 我喜欢看电影 — keep the pair whole
8. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 你有什么爱好? — What are your hobbies?
- 我喜欢看电影。 — I like watching films
- 我最喜欢中国菜。 — I like Chinese food the most
- 我不太喜欢。 — I don't really like it
- 还可以。 — It's OK
- 你觉得怎么样? — What do you think?
- 我觉得中文很难。 — I think Chinese is hard
- 中文比英文难。 — Chinese is harder than English
- 我的中文不太好。 — My Chinese isn't very good
- 我爱吃火锅。 — I love hotpot
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload section 2 (不太) and section 8 → study language Chinese.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | The dialogue — 不太 and 觉得 recur throughout |
| ✍️ Dictation | 不太 is bú tài — the sandhi'd 不 again |
| 🗣 Shadowing | Five things you like, five you don't — ★ all the negatives with 不太 |
| 🎭 Role-play | Today's key mission. Talk about hobbies for five turns, no English |
| 📖 Vocab | Hobby verbs as whole pairs — 看电影, 听音乐, never the halves |
★ Start using 不太 today. It is the phrase English speakers most under-use in Chinese, and the fastest way to stop sounding blunt.
Tomorrow is the week 2 review — tones, numbers, measure words, ordering. Bring the family description you wrote on Day 10.
langNote is a paid subscription and this course recommends it. The 30 lessons are free and complete either way.