Learn Hardcore Chinese: Túshūguǎn lǐ bǐ jiā lǐ gèng ānjìng, dànshì méi yǒu zìjǐ de fángjiān nàme shūfu. - The library is quieter than home, but it’s not as comfortable as having your own room.

比 already marks the comparison:
- 图书馆里比家里安静 = The library is quieter than home.
Adding 更 emphasizes “even more”:
- 图书馆里比家里更安静 = The library is even quieter than home.

In many everyday contexts, 比 + Adj and 比 + 更 + Adj both just mean “more… than…”, with 更 adding a small nuance of extra emphasis or degree.

Why is it 没有自己的房间那么舒服 and not something like 不自己的房间那么舒服? What does 没有 do here?

There is a set pattern for saying “not as … as …” in Chinese:

A + 没有 + B + 那么 + Adjective
= A is not as Adjective as B.

In the sentence:

A = (the library / being in the library – implied)
没有 = is not as … as
B = 自己的房间 (one’s own room)
那么舒服 = that comfortable

So 没有自己的房间那么舒服 =
“(it’s) not as comfortable as one’s own room.”

You cannot use 不 in this pattern. 不 negates verbs/adjectives directly, but 没有 … 那么 … is a special comparative structure.

✔ Correct pattern:

图书馆里没有自己的房间那么舒服。

✘ Wrong:

图书馆里不自己的房间那么舒服。 (ungrammatical)

What is the function of 那么 (nàme) here? Could we leave it out?

那么 literally means that (much / to that degree).

In comparatives, 没有 B 那么 Adj expresses:
“not (Adj) to the extent that B is” → “not as Adj as B”.

自己的房间那么舒服 = “(to be) that comfortable (the way one’s own room is)”

If you drop 那么 here, the structure breaks; the very common fixed pattern is:

没有 + B + 那么 + Adjective

So in standard usage you should keep 那么:

没有自己的房间那么舒服 – natural and grammatical.

You can encounter a related but slightly different pattern 没有 B + Adjective (e.g. 没有你高 = not as tall as you), but when 那么 is used, it almost always appears in this full pattern.

What exactly does 自己 mean in 自己的房间? Does it mean my own room, your own room, or something else?

自己 (zìjǐ) means self / oneself / one’s own. Its exact meaning depends on the context and the (usually omitted) subject.

With an implied 我 (I): 自己的房间 = my own room
With an implied 你 (you): 自己的房间 = your own room
More generally, it can mean one’s own room.

Chinese often drops pronouns when the context is clear. In English we must choose: my, your, his, her, one’s, etc. In this kind of generic sentence, English often uses “one’s own room” or “your own room”.

So 自己的房间 is a possessive “own room”, and whose room it is is given by context, not by the word itself.

Why do we need 的 in 自己的房间? Could we just say 自己房间?

In 自己的房间:

自己 = self / own
的 = links a modifier to a noun (like the ’s or of function in English)
房间 = room

So 自己的房间 literally means “self’s room / one’s own room.”

You will very often see 自己 used with 的 before a noun:

自己的家 – one’s own home
自己的书 – one’s own book

In casual spoken Chinese, people sometimes drop 的 after short pronouns or 自己, especially when it sounds very natural without it, but 自己的房间 with 的 is the standard and safest form, especially for learners.

Why is there no subject like 我 at the start? Shouldn’t it be 在图书馆里，比家里更安静 or 在图书馆里我觉得…?

Chinese often omits subjects when they are obvious from context.

The underlying idea might be:

在图书馆里（我觉得）比在家里更安静 – “In the library (I feel) it’s quieter than at home.”

But:

在 before 图书馆里 is not needed because the locative 里 already implies “in”.
The subject (like 我 or “it”) is omitted because everyone knows we’re talking about the environment or the experience there.

So 图书馆里比家里更安静 is a complete, natural sentence in Chinese, even though in English we must explicitly say “It’s quieter in the library than at home.”

Is 安静 here a verb or an adjective? Why don’t we need 是 (like 是安静的) to make a sentence?

安静 (ānjìng) is an adjective meaning quiet.

In Chinese, adjectives can often function directly as predicates without 是. The pattern is:

Subject + Adjective = Subject is Adjective

So:

图书馆里很安静。 = The library is quiet.
图书馆里比家里更安静。 = The library is quieter than home.

Using 是安静的 is possible but changes the feel:

图书馆里是安静的。 – more like a descriptive statement/classification (“The library is (a) quiet (place).”)

In everyday comparative sentences like this one, 比 + Adjective is the normal pattern, and 是 is not used.

Can we say 没那么舒服 instead of 没有那么舒服? Is there any difference?

Both are common in spoken Chinese:

没有那么舒服 – full form
没那么舒服 – slightly shorter, more colloquial

They mean the same thing here: “not that comfortable / not so comfortable.”

In the full pattern 没有 + B + 那么 + Adjective, 没有 is standard, but many speakers casually shorten 没有 to 没 in speech. For learners, it’s good to recognize both, and using 没有 is the safer, more neutral form in writing.

Why is there a comma before 但是? Could this be two separate sentences?

The original has:

图书馆里比家里更安静，但是没有自己的房间那么舒服。

This is one compound sentence with 但是 (dànshì) = but / however linking two contrasting clauses:

Library vs. home: quieter
Library vs. own room: less comfortable

You could write it as two sentences:

图书馆里比家里更安静。但是没有自己的房间那么舒服。

That’s also acceptable, especially in informal writing. Using a comma keeps the two ideas tightly connected as one thought, which is very common with 但是 in modern Chinese.