Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā shuō zhōngwén tīngqǐlái hěn hǎo, dàjiā dōu xǐhuan. - Her Chinese sounds good; everyone likes it.

In predicate-adjective sentences, Chinese normally needs a degree adverb (like 很) between the subject and the adjective. Here 很 often acts as a neutral linker, not necessarily emphatic “very.” Without it, 听起来好 can sound abrupt or contrastive. If you truly mean “very,” either stress 很 or use 非常/真/挺…的.

Compare:

她中文说得好。 (OK because 好 is after 得, describing manner.)
她说中文听起来很好。 (Natural.)
她说中文听起来好。 (Colloquial, but can feel clipped or comparative.)

Is the word order 她说中文听起来很好 natural? Any alternative phrasing?

Yes, it’s natural. Alternatives with slight nuance shifts:

她的中文听起来很好。 Focus on her Chinese as a thing.
她中文说得很好。 Evaluates her skill/manner; not specifically someone’s auditory impression.
她说的中文听起来很好。 Treats 她说的中文 (“the Chinese she speaks”) as a noun phrase.

Avoid ungrammatical 她说得中文….

What does 都 do in 大家都喜欢? Can I drop it?

都 means “all/both,” emphasizing that the statement applies to every member of the group. 大家都喜欢 highlights the universality. You can drop it (大家喜欢) if you don’t want that emphasis, but with plural subjects or lists, 都 is very common. Placement: Subject + 都 + Verb/Predicate.

What is the object of 喜欢 here? Is it okay to omit it?

It’s omitted because it’s clear from context (likely “her” or “the way she speaks Chinese”). Chinese often drops objects when they’re obvious.

To be explicit:

大家都喜欢她。
大家都喜欢她说中文的样子/发音。

Can I say 她的中文听起来很好 instead? Any nuance difference?

Yes. 她的中文听起来很好 highlights her Chinese as an entity. 她说中文听起来很好 foregrounds the act of her speaking Chinese. Both are fine in most contexts.

Why not use 是 before 好, like …是很好?

Adjectives normally function as predicates without 是; you pair them with a degree word (很/真/非常…). 是很好 exists in contrastive or concessive frames: 是很好，但是… (“It is good, but…”). It’s not the default for simple descriptions.

How is 听起来 different from 听上去, 听见/听到, and 听得出来?

听起来 / 听上去: Both mean “sounds (like…),” expressing an impression. 听起来 is a bit more common; 听上去 is very close in meaning.
听见/听到: Literal “to hear” (the sound reached you).
听得出来: “Can tell by listening” (you can discern something), e.g., 一听就听得出来她不是本地人。

Any pronunciation or tone-sandhi tips in this sentence?

她 tā, 说 shuō, 中文 zhōngwén, 都 dōu.
听起来 tīng qǐlai: in this use, 来 is often neutral-tone (light). You’ll also hear qǐlái; neutral is very common in speech.
很 hěn 好 hǎo: 3rd + 3rd; sandhi makes 很 sound like a rising 2nd tone: hén hǎo.
大家 dàjiā: 4th + 1st.
喜欢 xǐhuan: second syllable usually neutral: xǐhuan (not xǐhuān).

Is 好 the best adjective here? What about 好听/标准/流利/自然?

好: broad positive judgment.
好听: the sound is pleasant (often for music/voice; fine for speech too).
标准: standard, good accent.
流利: fluent.
自然: natural. Examples: 她的中文听起来很标准/很流利/很自然/很好听。

Is this 起来 the same 起来 that means “to stand up”?

Same morpheme, different function. As a directional complement, 起来 means “up” (e.g., 站起来). Here it’s an evaluative/aspectual complement indicating the impression after an action begins: 听起来/看起来/闻起来/尝起来/摸起来.

Can I say 她说得中文听起来很好?

No. 说得中文 is ungrammatical. With 得, use:

Object + Verb + 得
- complement: 她中文说得很好。
Or verb repetition: 她说中文说得很好。 (acceptable but a bit redundant) Your original 她说中文听起来很好 is concise and natural.

Where does 都 go if I negate the sentence?

都 stays before the verb, and negation follows 都:

大家都不喜欢。 (everyone doesn’t like it) For past/non-occurrence:
大家都没(有)喜欢。 With wh-words:
谁都不喜欢。 (nobody likes it)

Is 大家 formal? Are there alternatives?

大家 is neutral and very common. Alternatives:

所有人: “everyone,” a bit more formal/written.
各位: for addressing an audience; as a subject of a preference statement, 大家 is more natural. 各位都喜欢 sounds like you’re speaking to them directly.

Could I make the cause–effect explicit with 因为/所以?

Yes:

因为她说中文听起来很好，所以大家都喜欢。 You can drop either 因为 or 所以 in casual speech, but using both is clear. The original comma already implies the relationship in context.