Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā shuō zìjǐ de shēnghuó tài máng, méi shíjiān sànbù. - He says his life is too busy and he has no time to take walks.

自己 highlights that we’re talking about the subject’s own situation, not someone else’s. It also removes ambiguity in more complex sentences where there might be multiple people mentioned.

In this simple sentence, 他说自己的生活太忙 feels more natural and slightly more emphatic than 他说他的生活太忙. The latter is grammatically correct, but 自己 is often preferred when the possessor is the subject of the sentence.

What is the function of 的 between 自己 and 生活? Can we leave it out?

Here, 的 is the attributive/possessive marker. It links a “describing” part to a noun:

自己的生活 = self + 的 + life → one’s own life

Without 的, 自己生活 is possible only in a few set expressions or in very casual/poetic style, but in normal modern Mandarin prose, you almost always need 的:

✅ 自己的生活 – standard
❌ 自己生活 – usually feels incomplete/unnatural in this context

So: 的 is necessary here.

What’s the difference between 生活 (shēnghuó) and other “life” words like 生命 (shēngmìng) and 人生 (rénshēng)? Why use 生活 here?

These three words all relate to “life”, but in different ways:

生活 – everyday life / lifestyle / daily living
- Focuses on daily routine, busyness, work, chores, etc.
- 他的生活太忙 = His daily life is too busy.
生命 – biological life, life force
- Used for being alive vs. dead, sanctity of life.
- 保护生命 – protect life
- You normally don’t say 生命太忙.
人生 – (a person’s) life journey, life experience
- Philosophical / big-picture “life.”
- 人生很短 – Life is short.

Here we’re talking about being too busy and not having time to take walks, which clearly belongs to daily living, so 生活 is the natural choice.

What does 太 (tài) mean in 太忙? How is it different from 很忙?

Both 太 and 很 are degree adverbs, but they’re used differently:

很忙 (hěn máng) = very busy
- Neutral statement of degree: “He is very busy.”
太忙 (tài máng) ≈ too busy / overly busy
- Often carries a negative or complaining tone: it’s excessive, more than desirable.

In this sentence:

自己的生活太忙 suggests “his life is too busy”—to the point that it causes problems (for example, 没时间散步).

So 太 fits well because the second half of the sentence gives the negative consequence.

I learned the pattern 太 … 了 to mean “too …”. Why is there no 了 after 太忙 here?

You often see 太 … 了 as a set pattern:

太贵了！ – It’s too expensive!
太好了！ – That’s great!

But 太 doesn’t have to be followed by 了.
In 太忙 vs 太忙了:

太忙 – too busy, slightly more matter‑of‑fact
太忙了 – too busy, often more exclamatory / emotional

In this sentence, 他说自己的生活太忙，没时间散步, it’s more like a calm statement of his situation, not an exclamation, so 太忙 without 了 is natural. You could say 太忙了 and it would sound a bit more like he’s complaining emotionally. Both are grammatically OK; the given one is just slightly calmer.

Why do we use 没 instead of 不 in 没时间散步?

没 (méi) and 不 (bù) both negate, but they are used differently:

没 is used with:
- 有 (to have): 没有时间 – don’t have time
- past events / completed actions: 没去 – didn’t go
不 is used with:
- habits, general truths, planned actions, preferences:
  - 不去 – will not go / don’t go (in general)

In this phrase, the underlying structure is 没(有) 时间 = “not have time”.
Negating 有 (to have) must use 没, not 不:

✅ 没(有) 时间 – have no time
❌ 不有时间 – incorrect

So 没时间散步 literally means “(he) doesn’t have time to take a walk.”

Where is the “have” verb in 没时间散步? Is 有 missing?

Yes—有 (yǒu, to have) is implied and commonly omitted in speech and writing when negated by 没 and followed by a noun like 时间 (time):

Full form: 没有时间散步
Common shortened form: 没时间散步

Both mean “(he) doesn’t have time to take a walk.”

So you can see the structure as:

没(有) 时间 + 散步
= not‑have time + (for) walking

The omission of 有 after 没 is very common, especially with 时间, 钱, 空 (free time), etc.

Why is there no subject (like 他) before 没时间散步?

In Mandarin, when the subject is obvious from context, it is often dropped. This is very natural and common.

The sentence is:

他说自己的生活太忙，没时间散步。

We already know we’re talking about 他 (he) and 自己 (himself). So in the second clause, 没时间散步, the subject is understood to still be he:

(他) 没时间散步。 – (He) doesn’t have time to take a walk.

Adding 他 again is possible but less natural here:

他说自己的生活太忙，他没时间散步。
This is correct but feels a bit more repetitive. The original is smoother.

What exactly does 散步 (sànbù) mean? How is it different from just using 走路 (zǒu lù)?

Both involve walking, but they aren’t interchangeable:

散步 = to take a walk / go for a walk
- Usually for relaxation, leisure, light exercise.
- 我喜欢晚上去公园散步。 – I like to go for a walk in the park in the evening.
走路 = to walk (as a way of moving, not driving/riding)
- Neutral, just the action of walking (not necessarily for leisure).
- 我每天走路上班。 – I walk to work every day.

In 没时间散步, we’re talking about not having time for a leisurely walk, so 散步 is the right choice.

Could we say 没时间去散步 instead of 没时间散步? Does 去 change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

没时间散步
没时间去散步

Both are natural and mean essentially the same: “no time to take a walk.”

Nuance:

没时间散步 – very compact, focuses directly on the activity.
没时间去散步 – adds 去 (to go), which can slightly emphasize the idea of “going to do that activity”, but in practice the difference is minimal here.

Both are fine; the shorter version is very common in conversation.

How do we know if 他说 means “he said” (past) or “he says” (present)?

Mandarin generally doesn’t mark tense (past, present, future) as clearly as English. 说 (shuō) itself is tenseless; context tells you.

他说自己的生活太忙，没时间散步。 could translate as:
- He said that his life is too busy; he doesn’t have time to take a walk.
- or He says that his life is too busy; he doesn’t have time to take a walk.

To know which is intended, you’d rely on surrounding sentences, time words, or situation. For example:

昨天他说自己的生活太忙…
– Yesterday he said his life is too busy…

Then it’s clearly past. If there is no time word, many learners default to a present simple translation (“he says”), but both are possible. Context decides.