Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ de fángjiān hěn xiǎo,dànshì hěn shūfu.

Between two nouns:
- 他是老师。= “He is a teacher.”
With certain emphasis or contrast, e.g.:
- 我的房间是很小，但是……
  This sounds like “My room IS small, but…”—a bit more emphatic or argumentative.

In neutral descriptions with adjectives, no 是 is the default and most natural choice.

Does 很 (hěn) actually mean “very” here, or is it just like “is”?

In beginner textbooks, 很 is often taught as “very”, but in real usage it often functions as a soft linker between the subject and an adjective.

In a simple statement like:

我的房间很小。

Chinese speakers will usually understand it as a neutral description:
“My room is small.” (not necessarily “very small”).

To really stress “very”, speakers might:

Put extra spoken emphasis on 很: wǒ de fángjiān *hěn xiǎo*.
Or use stronger words: 非常, 特别, 挺, etc.
- 我的房间非常小。= “My room is very small.”
- 我的房间特别小。= “My room is especially small.”

So: 很 literally means “very”, but in many everyday sentences it’s closer to a neutral “is (adjective)” in translation.

Why is 很 used twice? Could I say “我的房间小，但是舒服。” instead?

The standard, natural pattern in Chinese is:

Subject + 很 + Adjective
When you have two adjective phrases joined by 但是, you normally give each one its own 很:
- 我的房间很小，但是很舒服。

If you say:

我的房间小，但是舒服。

it is not wrong, but it sounds a bit:

more abrupt or emphatic, and
less like a neutral description.

Using 很 twice makes the sentence sound more natural and smoother in everyday speech. Beginners are generally safer always including 很 before such descriptive adjectives.

What exactly does 的 (de) do between 我 and 房间?

的 is a possessive / modifier marker.

Pattern:

Modifier + 的 + Noun

Here:

我 = “I”
的 = “’s” / link marker
房间 = “room”

So:

我的房间 = “my room” (literally “I’s room”).

的 is used:

After pronouns (我，你，他，她…) to show possession:
- 我的书 = my book
- 你的电脑 = your computer
After nouns or phrases that modify another noun:
- 中国的文化 = Chinese culture
- 昨天来的那个人的朋友 = the friend of the person who came yesterday

Can I sometimes drop 的 and say “我房间” instead of “我的房间”?

For 房间, you normally keep 的:

我的房间 is the natural form.
我房间 is possible in some dialects or very casual speech, but it sounds non‑standard or at least very informal in standard Mandarin.

Where 的 is often dropped:

With very close relationships or fixed expressions:
- 我妈 / 我妈妈 (usually not 我的妈妈 in everyday speech)
- 我家 (my home / my family)
- 我哥，我姐，我朋友 (in casual speech)

With most regular nouns like 房间, 车, 电脑, you should keep 的:

我的车
我的电脑
我的房间

Can I leave out 我 (my) and just say “房间很小，但是很舒服。”?

Yes, if the context already makes it clear whose room you’re talking about.

Chinese often drops pronouns and possessives when they’re obvious from context. For example, if you’re already talking about your apartment, you might just say:

房间很小，但是很舒服。 = “(The) room is small but comfortable.”

But if you’re introducing the room for the first time, or it might be ambiguous, 我的房间 is clearer:

我的房间很小，但是很舒服。 = “My room is small, but (it’s) comfortable.”

Why use 但是 (dànshì) for “but”? How is it different from 可是 (kěshì), 不过 (búguò), and 但 (dàn)?

All of these can translate as “but / however”, but there are small differences in feel:

但是
Very common, slightly neutral-formal. Works in speech and writing.
- 我的房间很小，但是很舒服。
可是
Very common in spoken Chinese, often a bit more emotional or casual.
- 我的房间很小，可是很舒服。
不过
Means “but/however/although”, often a bit softer contrast, like “though”.
- 我的房间很小，不过很舒服。
  = “My room is small, but it’s comfortable though.”
但
Short for 但是, more formal / written or used in concise speech.
- 我的房间很小，但很舒服。

In this sentence, all four are grammatically fine. For a learner, 但是 or 可是 are the safest defaults.

Can 但是 go at the start of the sentence, like “But my room is small, (it’s) comfortable”?

Yes. You can put 但是 at the start of a sentence or clause.

For example:

但是，我的房间很小，很舒服。
= “But my room is small and comfortable.”

or keeping the original contrast structure:

别人家的房间都很大，但是我的房间很小，但是很舒服。
(A bit repetitive but grammatically OK.)

In your original sentence, 但是 is used to connect two clauses inside one sentence:

我的房间很小，但是很舒服。

Both patterns (sentence-initial 但是 or mid-sentence 但是) are very common and correct. The choice depends on what you said right before this sentence.

Why is the adjective after the noun (房间很小) instead of before it like in English (“small room”)? Can I say “很小的房间”?

Chinese uses two different structures:

Predicate adjective (what you have here)
- 房间很小。
  = “The room is small.”
  Pattern: Noun + 很 + Adjective
Attributive adjective (modifying a noun directly)
- 很小的房间
  = “a very small room”
  Pattern: Adjective + 的 + Noun

So you could say:

我的房间很小，但是很舒服。
My room is small, but comfortable.

or:

我那间很小的房间很舒服。
My very small room is comfortable.

They’re both correct; they just use different grammar roles for the adjective:

After the noun with 很 → description / statement
Before the noun with 的 → modifier / “small room”

What’s the difference between 舒服 (shūfu) and 舒适 (shūshì)? Could I say “我的房间很舒适”?

You can say 我的房间很舒适; it’s correct. The difference is mainly style and tone:

舒服
- Very common, colloquial, everyday word.
- Refers to physical or mental comfort:
  - 这张椅子很舒服。= This chair is comfortable.
  - 今天休息得很舒服。= I rested very comfortably today.
- Fits perfectly in: 我的房间很小，但是很舒服。
舒适
- Slightly more formal or descriptive.
- Often used for environments, conditions, design:
  - 房间的环境很舒适。= The room’s environment is very comfortable.
  - 这家酒店很舒适。= This hotel is very comfortable.

So:

舒服 = everyday, natural choice in spoken Chinese.
舒适 = more formal / descriptive, often seen in writing, ads, descriptions.

Where is the measure word for “room”? In English we say “one room”, in Chinese I learned there should be something like 一间房间.

In your sentence, you’re not saying “one room”, just “my room”, so no number or measure word is needed:

我的房间 = my room (the specific one that is mine)

If you want to say “one room”, you add a number + measure word:

一间房间 or more often just 一间房
- 一 = one
- 间 = measure word for rooms
- 房 / 房间 = room

Examples:

我有一间房间。= I have one room.
他租了两间房。= He rented two rooms.

In 我的房间很小，但是很舒服。, the room is already determined by 我 (my), so no measure word is required.

Why is the second syllable of 舒服 written as fu (neutral tone) instead of fú?

In dictionaries you may see 舒服 given as shūfu (first tone + neutral tone).

Key points:

Many common two‑syllable words in Mandarin have a neutral tone on the second syllable in natural speech.
舒服 is one of them:
- Standard pronunciation: shūfu
- The fu is short and light.

Saying shūfú (both tones full) is understandable but doesn’t sound like natural, relaxed Mandarin; it sounds like you’re reading syllable by syllable.

So:

Write: 舒服 (shūfu)
Say it with a light, unstressed second syllable.

How do I make this negative or express different degrees, like “not very small” or “quite small but very comfortable”?

You mainly adjust the degree word and add 不 for negation.

Not very small, but comfortable:
- 我的房间不太小，但是很舒服。
- 不太 = not very / not too
Quite small but very comfortable:
- 我的房间挺小的，但是非常舒服。
- 挺…的 = quite / pretty (spoken)
- 非常 = very (stronger than 很)
Really very small, but still comfortable:
- 我的房间真的很小，但是还是很舒服。
- 真的 = really
- 还是 = still / nevertheless

The core structure stays the same:

我的房间 + (degree word) + 小，但是 + (degree word) + 舒服。

You just swap 很 for words like 不太, 挺, 非常, 特别, 真的 depending on the nuance you want.