Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ de fángjiān bù dà, dànshì yǒu liǎng gè chuānghu, hěn shūfu. - My room isn’t big, but it has two windows and is very comfortable.

With things like 房间, 我的房间 is more natural and neutral.
我房间 is possible in fast speech or certain dialect-influenced styles, but it sounds a bit informal or clipped and is not what beginners should copy.

So in standard Mandarin for learners, stick with 我的房间.

Why does the sentence say 不大 (bù dà) “not big” instead of just using 小 (xiǎo) “small”?

不大 and 小 are related but not identical in tone:

不大 literally “not big” often implies “not very big / on the small side / somewhat small” – it can sound softer or more neutral.
小 is a direct “small”, which can feel stronger or more absolute.

Compare:

我的房间不大。= My room is not big. (neutral, slightly modest)
我的房间很小。= My room is (really) small. (stronger, more definite judgment)

In everyday speech, 不大 is a common way to describe something that isn’t spacious without sounding too negative.

Why is there no 是 (shì) before 不大 or 很舒服? In English we say “My room is not big” and “(It) is comfortable.”

In Chinese, when an adjective is used as the main predicate, you normally don’t use 是:

我的房间不大。= My room is not big.
很舒服。= (It) is comfortable.

Structure:

Subject + (degree word like 很) + adjective
- 她很高。= She is tall.
- 天气不好。= The weather is bad.

是 is usually used to link two nouns or noun phrases, not a noun and a simple adjective:

他是老师。= He is a teacher.
这是我的房间。= This is my room.

So you say 房间不大, not 房间是不大 in a simple description.

What exactly does 但是 (dànshì) do here? How is it different from 可是 (kěshì) or 但 (dàn)?

但是 is a conjunction meaning “but / however”, introducing a contrast:

我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户。
= My room is not big, but it has two windows.

Compared with the others:

但是 and 可是 are very close in meaning. Both are common; 但是 is slightly more formal or written, 可是 slightly more colloquial.
但 is a shorter, more literary or concise form, often seen in writing or in combination with other words.

In this sentence, you could say:

我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户。
我的房间不大，可是有两个窗户。
我的房间不大，但有两个窗户。

All are acceptable, with only a small difference in style.

What does 有 (yǒu) mean here? Is it “to have” like English, or “there is/are”?

有 can cover both ideas: “have” and “there is/are.”

In 有两个窗户, you can understand it two ways:

“(My room) has two windows.”
“There are two windows (in my room).”

Chinese doesn’t always separate “have” and “there is/are” the way English does.
The structure here is essentially:

我的房间（里）有两个窗户。
Subject (place) + 有 + number + measure word + noun

This is the standard way to say something exists in/at a place.

Why do we use 两 (liǎng) instead of 二 (èr) before 个窗户?

Before measure words (like 个, 本, 张, etc.) and countable nouns, Chinese normally uses 两 liǎng, not 二 èr:

两个窗户 = two windows
两个人 = two people
两本书 = two books

二 is mainly used for:

Numbers in phone numbers, room numbers, addresses, math, etc.
Saying the number 2 on its own, like counting: 一，二，三…

So 两个窗户 is the natural way to say “two windows.”

Why is the measure word 个 (gè) used with 窗户 (chuānghu)? I’ve seen 扇 (shàn) used with windows too.

个 is the most generic measure word in Mandarin. It’s widely used even when there are more specific measure words.

For 窗户 (window):

Specific measure word: 一扇窗户, 两扇窗户
Generic measure word: 一个窗户, 两个窗户

Differences:

扇 is more precise and a bit more standard/“correct” for doors and windows.
个 is very common in everyday spoken Chinese and is completely understandable and acceptable.

So 两个窗户 is natural in casual conversation; 两扇窗户 sounds a bit more precise or careful.

Does 很 (hěn) in 很舒服 always mean “very”? Could the sentence also just mean “(It) is comfortable”?

很 originally means “very”, but in modern Chinese, when used before an adjective as a predicate, it often acts as a kind of “default” degree word and doesn’t always feel as strong as English “very.”

我的房间很舒服。
→ Most often felt as “My room is comfortable.” (could be “quite/very comfortable” depending on context)

Why use 很?

我房间舒服 (without 很) is usually interpreted as comparative or incomplete, like “My room is more comfortable (than something)” or sounds unnatural in isolation.
Adding 很 “anchors” the adjective as a simple description: “is comfortable.”

So here 很舒服 can be translated:

naturally: “(It’s) comfortable.”
or, if you want to keep the nuance: “(It’s) quite/very comfortable.”

Context and intonation decide how strong it sounds.

Why can 很舒服 stand alone after a comma with no subject? Who or what is “very comfortable” here?

In Chinese, when the subject is obvious from context, it is often omitted.

The full idea is:

我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户，（我的房间）很舒服。
= My room is not big, but it has two windows; (my room) is very comfortable.

After mentioning 我的房间 at the start, Chinese can:

Drop the repeated subject and just say the new information: 很舒服.

This omission is very natural in Chinese and makes sentences shorter and more fluid. English usually has to repeat “it” or “my room,” but Chinese does not.

Is 舒服 (shūfu) an adjective or a verb? How is it being used here?

In this sentence, 舒服 is used as an adjective meaning “comfortable.”

Chinese adjectives can function as predicates directly:

很舒服。= (It) is comfortable.
这张椅子很舒服。= This chair is comfortable.

However, many adjectives in Chinese can also behave like stative verbs (verbs describing a state), which is why you don’t need an extra verb like “to be.”

You wouldn’t normally use 舒服 with a direct object like an English verb, e.g. you don’t say “我舒服这把椅子.” Instead you’d rephrase:

这把椅子让我很舒服。= This chair makes me very comfortable.

How should I pronounce 不 (bù) in 不大? I’ve heard it changes tone.

不 (bù) normally has fourth tone (falling).
But due to tone sandhi, when 不 comes before another fourth-tone syllable, it usually changes to second tone (bú).

大 (dà) is fourth tone.
So 不大 is pronounced bú dà (2nd + 4th).

This is standard pronunciation, even though pinyin often still writes bù dà.
In slow, careful speech, some people might keep bù, but bú dà is what you’ll hear naturally.

Why are there commas instead of periods? Could the sentence be written as shorter, complete sentences?

Chinese uses commas more freely than English to connect related clauses.

Your sentence:

我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户，很舒服。

can be split conceptually as:

我的房间不大。= My room is not big.
但是有两个窗户。= But it has two windows.
很舒服。= (It) is comfortable.

Writers often join these with commas to show they’re closely connected parts of one idea. You could also punctuate more “English-like”:

我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户。很舒服。

Both are acceptable. Chinese punctuation is flexible as long as the meaning is clear.

If I want to make it clear that the room is actually quite small, not just “not big,” how could I change the sentence?

To sound stronger / more definite about the small size, you can use 小 or add a stronger adverb:

我的房间很小，但是有两个窗户，很舒服。
= My room is small, but it has two windows; it’s very comfortable.

Or even:

我的房间非常小，但是有两个窗户，很舒服。
= My room is extremely/very small, but it has two windows; it’s very comfortable.

Compared with 不大, these sound less modest and more clearly emphasize that the room really is small.

Could I say 虽然……但是…… with this sentence? How would that work?

Yes. 虽然 (suīrán)…但是 (dànshì)… is a common pattern meaning “although … (yet) …”.

You could say:

虽然我的房间不大，但是有两个窗户，很舒服。
= Although my room is not big, (it) has two windows and is very comfortable.

Notes:

虽然 often appears before the first clause.
但是 (or 可是/但) appears before the second, contrasting clause.
In spoken Chinese, people sometimes drop one of them, especially 但是:
- 虽然我的房间不大，有两个窗户，很舒服。

This pattern emphasizes the contrast more explicitly than just using 但是 alone.