Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ bàba xiàbān yǐhòu xǐhuan kàn xīnwén. - My dad likes to watch the news after work.

Using 的 (我的爸爸) is more formal, a bit more detached, or used when you want to emphasize which dad (for example, contrasting with someone else’s dad). In everyday conversation, 我爸爸 is more natural.

So does 我 mean “I” as the subject, or is it only showing possession in 我爸爸?

Here 我 is part of a possessive phrase:

我爸爸 = my dad

The subject of the sentence is the whole noun phrase 我爸爸, not 我 by itself.

So the sentence is about your dad, not about you. It does not mean “I, after work, like to watch the news.” It means “My dad, after work, likes to watch the news.”

Could I leave out 我 and just say 爸爸下班以后喜欢看新闻。?

Yes, that’s possible in context.

爸爸下班以后喜欢看新闻。

This is commonly said when you’re talking about your own dad and it’s clear from context. In many families people just say 爸爸, 妈妈 instead of 我爸爸, 我妈妈 when talking about their own parents.

However, if it’s not clear whose dad you mean (for example in a more neutral context), 我爸爸 is safer and clearer.

Why is there no word for “he” (他) in the sentence?

Chinese does not need to repeat the subject as often as English.

The subject is 我爸爸.
That same subject carries through for 下班以后喜欢看新闻.

So 他 (he) is understood and not necessary. You could say:

我爸爸下班以后他喜欢看新闻。

—but that sounds redundant or unnatural. Native speakers would almost never say it that way in this context.

What is the basic word order of this sentence?

The main structure is:

[Subject] + [Time phrase] + [Verb] + [Object]

我爸爸 (subject: my dad)
下班以后 (time phrase: after finishing work)
喜欢 (verb: likes)
看新闻 (verb-object phrase: watch the news)

So: 我爸爸 / 下班以后 / 喜欢 / 看新闻。

What exactly does 下班 mean? Who is doing the “getting off work”?

下班 (xiàbān) literally means to get off work / to finish one’s work shift.

In this sentence, the person who 下班 is the same as the subject 我爸爸:

我爸爸下班以后
= After my dad gets off work

Chinese does not repeat the subject right before 下班; it is understood that it’s 我爸爸 who is doing the action.

How does 以后 work here? Does it always follow the verb?

以后 (yǐhòu) means after or afterwards.

Common pattern:

Verb + 以后 = after doing that verb

So:

下班以后 = after getting off work
吃饭以后 = after eating
毕业以后 = after graduating

In time expressions like this, 以后 usually comes after the action it refers to. The whole phrase then acts as a time phrase in the sentence.

Can I move 下班以后 to a different position in the sentence?

Yes. Time expressions are often flexible in Chinese, but they usually come before the main verb. Natural options include:

我爸爸下班以后喜欢看新闻。
我爸爸喜欢在下班以后看新闻。
下班以后，我爸爸喜欢看新闻。

All are understandable.

(1) is the most neutral and common.
(3) puts more emphasis on the time (“As for after work, my dad likes to…”).
(2) is okay but slightly less common; 在下班以后 feels a bit heavier and more formal in everyday speech.

Does this sentence talk about the past, the present, or the future? There’s no tense marker.

Chinese does not mark tense the same way English does.

我爸爸下班以后喜欢看新闻。 is interpreted by default as a habitual statement, similar to:

“My dad likes to watch the news after work.”
(a general habit, not one specific day)

Context could make it refer to the past or future, but with no extra words, native speakers read it as a general habit.

Why is it 喜欢看 and not 喜欢去看 or 喜欢看着?

喜欢 (xǐhuan) is usually followed directly by:

a noun: 喜欢音乐 (like music)
a verb phrase: 喜欢看书 (like reading books)

So 喜欢看新闻 is a very standard pattern: like + watch the news.

You can say 喜欢去看, but it sounds more like “like going to watch” (focusing on going somewhere to watch).

喜欢看着 is not idiomatic here. 着 usually marks a continuous state, and it doesn’t fit well right after 喜欢 in this pattern.

Could I use 爱 instead of 喜欢, as in 我爸爸下班以后爱看新闻?

You could say it, and people will understand, but the nuance changes:

喜欢 = like; sounds neutral, natural for hobbies/habits
爱 = love; stronger, or sometimes used casually in spoken language, but can feel a bit more emphatic or stylistic

For a simple habitual preference, 喜欢 is safer and more standard:

我爸爸下班以后喜欢看新闻。

Does 看 here mean “watch” or “read”? English normally says “watch the news” for TV and “read the news” for newspapers.

Chinese 看 (kàn) covers both “watch” and “read” depending on the object:

看电视 = watch TV
看书 = read books
看报纸 = read newspapers
看电影 = watch movies

So 看新闻 can be:

watching the news on TV / online, or
reading the news (newspapers, apps, websites)

The exact medium is usually understood from context.

Why is there no measure word before 新闻? Shouldn’t it be something like “a piece of news”?

新闻 (xīnwén) can be:

an uncountable noun / general category:
- 看新闻 = consume news (in general)
a countable item, when you add a measure word:
- 一条新闻 = one piece of news
- 几条新闻 = several pieces of news

In this sentence, you’re talking about the activity in general (watching/reading the news), so a bare 新闻 without a measure word is natural.

How should I pronounce 爸爸 and 喜欢? Is the second syllable neutral tone?

爸爸: bàba
- First 爸: 4th tone (bà)
- Second 爸: usually pronounced with a neutral tone in everyday speech, so it sounds lighter: ba
喜欢: written as xǐhuan
- 喜: 3rd tone (xǐ)
- 欢: often pronounced with a neutral-tone-like lightness in casual speech, especially in northern Mandarin. Learners usually learn it as 1st tone (huān), but in fast, natural speech it’s often reduced.

So you’ll commonly hear something like:

wǒ bàba xiàbān yǐhòu xǐhuan kàn xīnwén
With bàba and the second syllable of xǐhuan both sounding lighter on the second syllable.