Learn Hardcore Chinese: Tā juéde zuò zhōngwén zuòyè bù tài jiǎndān. - He thinks doing Chinese homework is not very easy.

觉得 (juéde) – subjective feeling or opinion
- 他觉得做中文作业不太简单。
  He thinks doing Chinese homework is not very easy.
想 (xiǎng) – to think, to want, to plan
- 我想学中文。
  I want to study Chinese.
- 我在想一个问题。
  I am thinking about a question.
以为 (yǐwéi) – “to think” but usually with the nuance “to think (incorrectly)”
- 我以为他是老师。
  I thought he was a teacher (but I was wrong).

So here 觉得 is the natural verb for expressing his opinion about the difficulty.

Why do we need 做 (zuò) before 中文作业 (zhōngwén zuòyè)? Isn’t 作业 already “homework”?

Yes, 作业 (zuòyè) by itself means “homework / assignment”, but in Chinese you normally “do homework” = 做作业.

做作业 (zuò zuòyè) = to do homework
做中文作业 (zuò zhōngwén zuòyè) = to do Chinese homework

So the structure is:

做 + 中文作业 = “do Chinese homework”

This matches English: do homework, do math homework, etc. The verb 做 is needed because 中文作业 is a noun phrase (the homework itself), and we need a verb to say we do it.

What is the overall structure of the sentence 他觉得做中文作业不太简单?

The basic pattern is:

Subject + 觉得 + Clause

Breakdown:

他 – he
觉得 – thinks / feels
做中文作业 – doing Chinese homework (verb–object phrase)
不太简单 – not very simple / not too easy

Put together:

他觉得 = He thinks that…
做中文作业不太简单 = doing Chinese homework is not very simple

So syntactically:

他 + 觉得 + [做中文作业 + 不太简单]
He + thinks + [doing Chinese homework + is not very simple]

What exactly does 不太 (bù tài) mean here? Is it just “not very”?

不太 + adjective usually means “not very ~” / “not too ~” and sounds mild and polite.

不太简单 = not very simple / not too easy
– implies it’s somewhat hard, but not extremely difficult.

Nuance:

不简单 – “not simple”, fairly strong, can also mean “remarkable / impressive” in other contexts.
很难 – “very hard”, clearly strong difficulty.
不太简单 – a softer, more moderate way to say it’s not easy.

So he isn’t saying “Chinese homework is extremely hard,” just that it’s not all that simple.

Why is 太 (tài) used in a negative phrase 不太简单? Isn’t 太 usually “too (much)” as in “too easy”?

On its own:

太简单了！ – It’s too easy! (overly easy)

But in the pattern “不太 + adjective”, 太 loses the meaning of “too (excessively)” and becomes part of a set expression meaning “not very / not too”.

不太冷 – not very cold
不太忙 – not very busy
不太简单 – not very simple

So:

太 + adj + 了 → “too …!” (excessive)
不太 + adj → “not very …” (mild negation)

Here you’re seeing the second, fixed pattern.

How is 不太简单 different from 很难 (hěn nán) or 非常难 (fēicháng nán)?

All describe difficulty, but with different strength:

不太简单 – not very simple, mildly difficult, neutral/polite
有点儿难 / 有点难 – a bit hard, slightly negative tone
很难 – very hard, clearly strong
非常难 – extremely hard, very strong

So:

他觉得做中文作业不太简单。
He finds Chinese homework not very easy (moderate difficulty).
他觉得做中文作业很难。
He finds Chinese homework very hard.

Using 不太简单 sounds less dramatic than 很难 or 非常难.

What’s the difference between 中文 (zhōngwén) and 汉语 (hànyǔ)? Could I say 做汉语作业 instead?

Both relate to the Chinese language, but usage differs slightly:

中文 – “Chinese (language)” in a broad, practical sense; very common in school contexts, reading/writing, “Chinese class,” etc.
汉语 – the Han ethnic group’s language; more linguistic/academic term, common in textbooks, language-study contexts.

In homework / school contexts, 中文作业 is very natural, like “Chinese class homework”.

做汉语作业 is also understandable and grammatically correct, just a bit more “textbooky.” In real school life, 中文作业 is what you usually hear.

Why isn’t there a 是 (shì) in 做中文作业不太简单? Why not say 做中文作业是不太简单?

In Chinese, adjectives can function like verbs, so you often do not need 是 before them when they are predicates.

中文作业不太简单。
Literally: “Chinese homework not-very-simple.”
This already means: “Chinese homework is not very simple.”

Adding 是 here (做中文作业*是不太简单*) is possible in some contexts for emphasis or contrast, but it changes the feel and is not needed in the neutral statement.

Common pattern:

Subject + (很/不/太/非常…) + Adjective
No 是 required:
- 他很高。– He is tall.
- 这个问题不太简单。– This question is not very simple.

Could we drop 做 and just say 他觉得中文作业不太简单? Would that be correct?

Yes, that is also correct, and very natural:

他觉得中文作业不太简单。
He thinks Chinese homework is not very easy.

Difference:

他觉得做中文作业不太简单。 – focuses slightly more on the activity of doing Chinese homework.
他觉得中文作业不太简单。 – focuses slightly more on the homework itself being not very simple.

In everyday speech, both are fine; the difference is subtle.

How is tense expressed here? Does 他觉得做中文作业不太简单 mean past, present, or general?

Chinese does not change the verb form for tense. 觉得 and 做 here are tenseless; the time is inferred from context.

This sentence by itself most naturally expresses a general or present opinion:

He (generally / currently) thinks doing Chinese homework is not very easy.

To make time clearer, you add time words:

昨天他觉得做中文作业不太简单。
Yesterday he thought doing Chinese homework was not very easy.
明天他会觉得做中文作业不太简单。
Tomorrow he will feel that doing Chinese homework is not very easy.

So the base structure stays the same; you add time expressions or auxiliaries like 会 to show tense/aspect.

Is 作业 (zuòyè) countable? How would you say “a homework assignment” or “homeworks” with 中文作业?

作业 itself is usually uncountable in casual speech, like “homework” in English.

For “a homework assignment,” Chinese uses a measure word:

一份作业 (yí fèn zuòyè) – one piece of homework
两份中文作业 (liǎng fèn zhōngwén zuòyè) – two Chinese homework assignments

In this sentence, 中文作业 is used in a general, mass sense – “Chinese homework (in general),” so no measure word is needed.

How should 不太 (bù tài) be pronounced in real speech? Does 不 change tone before 太?

Yes, 不 (bù) has a tone-change rule:

Before a 4th-tone syllable, 不 (bù) changes to bú (2nd tone).

Since 太 (tài) is 4th tone, native speakers actually say:

不太 → bú tài

So the natural pronunciation of 不太简单 is:

bú tài jiǎndān

Pinyin often still writes bù tài, but in real speech it’s pronounced bú tài.

What’s the difference between 简单 (jiǎndān) and 容易 (róngyì) here? Could I say 不太容易 instead of 不太简单?

Both can be used, and both will sound natural, but they have slightly different flavors:

简单 – simple, uncomplicated
- Focuses on simplicity of structure or process.
容易 – easy
- Focuses more directly on how easy it is to succeed / do it.

In this sentence:

不太简单 – not very simple (the homework’s content/structure is not very simple)
不太容易 – not very easy (it’s not easy to do this homework / do well on it)

You can say:

他觉得做中文作业不太容易。
He thinks doing Chinese homework is not very easy.

Grammatically both are fine; which one you choose depends on whether you want to emphasize “simple vs. complex” (简单) or “easy vs. hard to do” (容易).