Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ hái bù tài xíguàn zhème zǎo qǐchuáng. - I’m still not quite used to getting up this early.

我还不太习惯这么早起床。
“I’m still not really used to getting up this early.”
→ mild, sounds like you’re somewhat used to it, but not comfortably yet.
我还不习惯这么早起床。
“I’m still not used to getting up this early.”
→ stronger; suggests you basically haven’t gotten used to it.
我还没习惯这么早起床。
literally “I still haven’t gotten used to getting up this early.”
→ focuses on the process not being completed yet (more like a factual “not yet”).

So 还不太习惯 is a polite, soft way of saying “I’m not really used to it (yet).”

Is 习惯 (xíguàn) a verb or a noun here? How is it working grammatically?

Here 习惯 is used as a verb meaning “to be used to / to be accustomed to.”

Pattern:

(subject) + 习惯 + (action / situation)

In the sentence:

我还不太习惯这么早起床。
→ 习惯 (to be used to)
→ 这么早起床 (“getting up this early” – a verb phrase)

So the whole thing literally means:

“I still am not very used to getting up this early.”

习惯 can also be a noun (“habit”):

我有早起的习惯。
I have the habit of getting up early.

It can also be used with 对 when you talk about being used to something (usually a noun):

我还不太习惯这儿的天气。
I’m still not really used to the weather here.
我对这儿的天气还不太习惯。
I’m still not really used to the weather here.
(对 + something + 习惯)

What is the role of 这么 (zhème) here? How is it different from 很 (hěn) or 那么 (nàme)?

这么 means “so / this (much)” and shows degree from the speaker’s point of view.

这么早 = “this early / so early”

In this sentence, 这么早 conveys a kind of personal reaction:
“this (annoyingly / surprisingly) early.”

Comparisons:

这么早 – this early (from the speaker’s current point of view)
那么早 – that early (often when referring to something already mentioned or more distant)
很早 – very early (just degree, more neutral)

So:

我还不太习惯这么早起床。
I’m still not really used to getting up this early (like this schedule).

You could say 很早起床, but that would sound more like “getting up very early” in a more general sense, and you’d lose the “this early (as it is now)” feeling.

Why is it 这么早起床 and not something like 起这么早床? What’s the word order rule?

In 这么早起床, the structure is:

这么早 (degree word + adjective) functioning as an adverbial
- 起床 (verb: get up)

Chinese adverbs / adverbial phrases (like “very early”, “so early”, “every day”) usually go before the verb:

我每天很早起床。
I get up very early every day.

So:

这么早 modifies 起床, so it goes in front:
这么早 + 起床

起这么早 is also possible in Chinese and is fairly natural:

我还不太习惯起这么早。

Here 起 is working more directly as “get up” and 这么早 follows it, but your original version 这么早起床 is extremely common and very natural.

You can’t say 起这么早床 – 床 is part of the verb 起床 (“to get up (from bed)”), not a separate object you move around.

Why is 早 (zǎo) placed before 起床, and not after it? Isn’t 早 an adjective?

In this usage, 早 is acting like an adverb, describing when you get up: early.

In Chinese, adjectives can frequently be used as adverbs without any extra word (like “-ly” in English). They usually go before the verb:

他早走了。
He left early.
我慢慢走。
I walk slowly.

So:

早 (early) + 起床 (get up)
→ 早起床 = “get up early”

这么早起床 = “get up this early.”

Putting 早 after 起床 (起床早) is possible in some patterns, but that often sounds like a description of state/time (“the time of getting up is early”) rather than directly modifying the action. The default natural pattern when you’re just talking about the action is 早 + 起床.

What’s the difference between 起床, 起, and 醒? Could I just say 这么早起?

起床 (qǐchuáng): “to get up (out of bed).”
→ This is the standard, everyday verb for getting up from bed.
起 (qǐ) by itself: literally “to rise / to get up”, but:
- On its own it’s often incomplete or requires context (起得很早, “to get up very early”).
- Commonly used in compounds: 起来, 起身, 起飞, etc.
醒 (xǐng): “to wake up (be awake)”, not necessarily get out of bed.

So:

我七点醒，七点半起床。
I wake up at 7, and get up at 7:30.

Can you say 这么早起?
Yes, in conversation, 起 can stand for 起床 when context is clear:

我不习惯这么早起。

That’s fine and sounds colloquial. But 这么早起床 is more explicit and very standard, especially for learners.

Could I say 我还没习惯这么早起床 instead? How is that different from 我还不太习惯这么早起床?

Yes, you can, and it’s correct. The nuance is slightly different:

我还不太习惯这么早起床。
- “I’m still not really / not very used to getting up this early.”
- Softer, more subjective; suggests you’ve adjusted a bit, but not comfortably.
我还没习惯这么早起床。
- literally “I still haven’t gotten used to getting up this early.”
- More factual, process-oriented: you have not yet reached the state of being used to it at all (or much).

So 不太习惯 sounds like you’re partway there; 没习惯 sounds more like you’re still outside that state.

Can I drop 这么 and just say 我还不太习惯早起床 or 早起?

You can:

我还不太习惯早起。
我还不太习惯早起床。 (less common than 早起 here, but understandable)

早起 by itself means “to get up early” in general.

Differences:

这么早起床: “getting up this early (like the current schedule)” – emphasizes this specific, especially early time.
早起 / 早起床: “getting up early” in a more general sense.

So the original sentence is specifically complaining (mildly) about this particular time being so early, not just about “early rising” as a concept.

Why isn’t there a 了 (le) somewhere, like after 习惯? Can I say 我已经习惯了这么早起床?

In the original sentence, 了 isn’t used because the focus is on a current, incomplete state: “I’m still not really used to it.”

If you say:

我已经习惯了这么早起床。
“I’ve already gotten used to getting up this early.”

Here, 了 after 习惯 marks a completed change of state:
there was a time you weren’t used to it, and now you have become used to it.

So:

还不太习惯 → you’re still in the process, not there yet.
已经习惯了 → the process is finished; you’re used to it now.

Putting 了 in the original negative sentence, like 我还不太习惯这么早起床了, is usually unnecessary and can sound odd; Chinese normally doesn’t mark this particular negative state with 了.

Does Chinese usually need the subject 我 here, or could you start directly with 还不太习惯这么早起床?

In everyday spoken Chinese, if it’s totally clear you’re talking about yourself, people often omit the subject:

(我) 还不太习惯这么早起床。

Both are grammatical. With no context, though, you normally include 我, especially in written examples and for learners.

So:

With 我: clear and standard.
Without 我: natural in a conversation when “I” is already obvious from context.

Is 还 here closer to “still” or to “also”? I’ve seen 还 translated both ways.

In this sentence, 还 is clearly “still / yet”, not “also.”

Rough mapping:

还 = still / yet when used with time, continuation, or incompleteness:
- 我还在上班。
  I’m still at work.
- 他还没来。
  He still hasn’t come.
还 = also / in addition when adding something:
- 我买了苹果，还买了香蕉。
  I bought apples and also bought bananas.

In 我还不太习惯这么早起床, it’s the first type:
“Up to now, I’m still not really used to it.”