Learn Hardcore Chinese: xué zhōngwén de shíhou, wǒ juéde Hànzì hěn nán. - When I study Chinese, I feel that Chinese characters are very hard.

That confuses the structure: it sounds like “the time when Chinese characters are hard to learn” is modifying something after it, but nothing comes, so it’s ungrammatical in this context.

Why is there no 是 in 汉字很难? In English we say “Chinese characters are difficult.”

In Chinese, adjectives can act as verbs. They already mean “to be [adjective]”, so you usually don’t need a separate 是.

汉字很难。 ≈ “Chinese characters are difficult.”
今天很冷。 ≈ “Today is cold.”
他很高。 ≈ “He is tall.”

Using 是 directly before an adjective (汉字是难) is usually wrong or sounds very marked.
You do see 是 with adjectives in special emphasis patterns, e.g.:

汉字是很难，可是也很有意思。
“Chinese characters are difficult, but also very interesting.”

Here 是 is used to strongly acknowledge or contrast something.

Why do we need 很 before 难? Doesn’t 很 mean “very”? Is it really “very difficult”?

Literally, 很 does mean “very”, but in sentences like 汉字很难, it often doesn’t sound as strong as English “very”. It often functions as a kind of default “degree word” that makes the adjective sound natural as a predicate.

汉字很难。
Natural, can mean anywhere from “are difficult” to “are quite difficult,” depending on tone and context.

If you say:

汉字难。

it can sound:

somewhat abrupt, or
contrastive, like “Chinese characters are (in fact) difficult (unlike what you might think or unlike something else).”

So for a simple neutral statement “Chinese characters are difficult,” learners are usually safer with 汉字很难. Think of 很 here as “(are) difficult” rather than a strong “very” unless context/emphasis makes it clearly stronger.

What’s the difference between 中文 and 汉字 in this sentence?

中文 = the Chinese language as a whole (speaking, listening, reading, writing).
- 学中文 = “learn Chinese (the language).”
汉字 = Chinese characters (the writing system).
- 汉 refers to the Han people.
- 字 = “character; written symbol.”

So the sentence says: when I learn Chinese (language), I find Chinese characters difficult.
You could also say:

学中文的时候，我觉得中文很难。
→ “When I learn Chinese, I think Chinese (the language) is hard.” (More general complaint)

But 汉字很难 focuses specifically on the writing system.

What exactly does 觉得 mean here? How is it different from 想 or 认为?

觉得 means “to feel / to think (subjectively)” and is very common for giving personal impressions:

我觉得汉字很难。
“I feel/think that Chinese characters are difficult.”

Rough comparison:

觉得
- Neutral, everyday “I think / I feel”; subjective impression.
- Works with most opinion sentences: 我觉得这个电影很好看。
想
- Main meanings: “to want (to)”, “to miss (someone)”, or “to think (about)”.
- For a bare opinion like this, 我想汉字很难 is possible but less common; it can sound a bit more tentative or like you’re reasoning something out.
认为
- More formal, “to hold the view that / to consider that”.
- Often used in written language, discussions, or arguments:
  我认为这个方法更有效。

In everyday speech for “I find X hard/good/interesting,” 觉得 is the default choice.

Why do we use 时候 here and not 时间?

Both relate to “time,” but they’re used differently.

时候 (shíhou):

Means “(a) time / (a) moment / (a) period (when…)”.
Often used with another phrase in front to specify when:
- 我回家的时候 = “when I go home”
- 你来的时候 = “when you come”
- 学中文的时候 = “when (I) learn Chinese”

时间 (shíjiān):

Means “time” as an amount or resource.
Often used with 有 / 没有 / 花 / 花费 etc.:
- 我没有时间。 = “I don’t have time.”
- 他花了很多时间学中文。 = “He spent a lot of time learning Chinese.”

So you say:

学中文的时候 ✅
but not
学中文的时间 ❌ (unnatural if you mean “when I learn Chinese”).

How do we know if 学中文的时候，我觉得汉字很难 is past (“when I was learning…”) or present (“when I learn…”)? There’s no tense marking.

Chinese doesn’t have tense the way English does. The sentence itself is neutral; it can describe past, present, or even general habit. The actual meaning depends on context.

Possible readings:

Past: “When I was learning Chinese (at that time), I found characters difficult.”
Present/habitual: “When I learn Chinese, I find characters difficult.”

To make it clearly past, you can add time words:

以前学中文的时候，我觉得汉字很难。
“Before/Previously, when I was learning Chinese, I thought characters were difficult.”
那时候学中文的时候，我觉得汉字很难。
“At that time, when I was learning Chinese…”

To emphasize it’s current / still true, you might say:

现在学中文的时候，我还是觉得汉字很难。
“Now when I learn Chinese, I still find characters difficult.”

Can I drop 我 and just say 学中文的时候，觉得汉字很难?

Yes, that’s possible and natural if the subject “I” is clear from context.

Chinese often omits pronouns when they’re understood:

(我) 学中文的时候，(我) 觉得汉字很难。
→ 学中文的时候，觉得汉字很难。

However, in a standalone sentence (like in a textbook example), 我 is often kept to make the subject explicit for learners. In real conversation, it’s common to drop it if everybody knows who’s speaking about whom.

Why is it 学中文 and not 学习中文? Are 学 and 学习 different?

学 and 学习 are closely related; 学 is basically a shorter version of 学习, and both can mean “to study / to learn.”

Typical patterns:

Everyday spoken Chinese:
- 学中文, 学英语, 学钢琴 (learn Chinese, English, piano)
More formal or written style:
- 学习汉语, 努力学习, 学习理论

Differences in feeling:

学: shorter, more colloquial, very common in speech.
学习: can sound more formal or “serious,” also used as a noun (“study; studies”) in some contexts: 努力学习 (“study hard”).

In this sentence, both are acceptable:

学中文的时候，我觉得汉字很难。
学习中文的时候，我觉得汉字很难。

The first just sounds a bit more casual/natural in everyday speech.

Can I shorten 学中文的时候 to 学中文时? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

学中文时，我觉得汉字很难。

时 here is a written/condensed form of 时候. Differences:

时候: more common in speech; neutral in most contexts.
时: more formal / literary; often seen in written Chinese, headlines, instructions, etc.

Meaning-wise, they’re the same: 学中文时 = 学中文的时候 = “when learning Chinese.” In spoken Mandarin, 的时候 is much more frequent.