Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ yìdiǎnr yě bú hàipà zài zhè tiáo mǎlù shàng zǒu, yīnwèi wǎnshang yě hěn ānquán. - I’m not afraid at all to walk on this road, because it’s also very safe at night.

The structure 一点儿也不 + verb/adj strongly emphasizes zero degree of that feeling or state. So the speaker is stressing complete lack of fear, not just a simple “I’m not afraid.”

Why is the word order 一点儿也不害怕 and not something like 不一点儿害怕?

Chinese has a fairly fixed pattern for this kind of emphasis:

一点儿 + 也/都 + 不/没 + Verb/Adjective

You cannot move 不 in front of 一点儿 here; 不一点儿害怕 is ungrammatical.

Think of it as a chunked pattern:

一点儿也不害怕 = “(I’m) not even a little bit afraid.”
Similar patterns:
- 一分钱也没有 – “doesn’t have even one cent”
- 一句话都不说 – “doesn’t say even one word”

What is the function of 也 in 一点儿也不害怕? Is it the same “also” as in English?

In 一点儿也不害怕, 也 is not really “also.” It acts more like an emphasizer inside a negative pattern.

It’s close to the meaning of “even” in English:

一点儿也不害怕 ≈ “not even a little bit afraid.”

Here 也 is part of a set pattern (一点儿也不… / 一点儿都不…) and doesn’t carry its usual “also” meaning.

Can I say 一点儿都不害怕 instead of 一点儿也不害怕? Any difference?

Yes, you can say 一点儿都不害怕; it’s very common and completely natural.

In this pattern, 也 and 都 both work:

一点儿也不害怕
一点儿都不害怕

Both mean “not at all afraid.”

Many speakers feel 都 here is slightly stronger or more colloquial, but in everyday speech they are essentially interchangeable.

Why is 也 used again in 晚上也很安全? Is it the same 也 as before?

The second 也 in 晚上也很安全 is the usual “also / even”:

It means: “It’s also very safe at night (not just at other times).”

So we have:

First 也 (in 一点儿也不害怕) = emphasis inside a negation pattern (“not even a bit”).
Second 也 (in 晚上也很安全) = normal “also / even” meaning: even at night, it’s still safe.

They are the same character, but serving two slightly different roles.

Why is it 不害怕 and not 没害怕 here?

Chinese has two main negators: 不 (bù) and 没 (méi).

不 is used for:

Habitual actions
General statements
Present/future states
Adjectives

没 is used for:

Past events (not having done something)
Non-existence, “do not have” (没有)

In 不害怕:

害怕 is more like a current state/feeling (“to be afraid”).
We’re making a general statement: “I’m not (at all) afraid (of walking here).”

So 不害怕 is correct; 没害怕 would sound wrong or at least very unnatural here.

Why is it 在这条马路上走 and not 走在这条马路上? Are both correct?

Both are grammatical; the difference is nuance and focus:

在这条马路上走
- Literally: “(to) walk on this road.”
- Structure: 在 + place + Verb
- Focus: the action of walking, happening at that location.
- Very common, neutral.
走在这条马路上
- Literally: “(to) walk-LOC on this road.”
- Structure: Verb + 在 + place
- Feels slightly more descriptive or literary, sometimes highlighting the scene of “walking on the road.”

In everyday speech, 在这条马路上走 is more typical and fits well in this practical, factual sentence.

Why is the measure word 条 (tiáo) used with 马路 (road)?

Chinese nouns almost always need a measure word when counted or specified with 这 / 那.

Different nouns use different measure words based on shape or convention.
条 (tiáo) is used for long, narrow, flexible or strip-like things:

一条鱼 – a fish
一条河 – a river
一条裤子 – a pair of trousers
一条马路 – a road

So 这条马路 = “this road.” It’s the standard classifier; you can’t replace it with 个 here (这个马路 is wrong).

Why do we need both 在 and 上 in 在这条马路上走? Could we just say 在这条马路走?

You generally need both:

在 marks location: “at / in / on.”
上 is the postposition indicating “on (top of) / on the surface of.”

So:

在这条马路上走 = “to walk on this road.”

If you say 在这条马路走, it sounds incomplete or odd, because 马路 itself doesn’t encode “on the surface” the way English “road” does in context; Chinese likes the explicit 上 for “on.”

Similar patterns:

在桌子上放着一本书 – There is a book on the table.
在地上坐 – sit on the ground.

Why is it 晚上也很安全, not just 晚上也安全?

In modern spoken Mandarin, predicative adjectives (adjectives used as verbs: “be + adj”) usually take a degree adverb like 很 (very), 挺, 非常, etc.

Without 很, many adjective predicates sound:

Unnaturally abrupt, or
Like explicit comparisons (“is too safe / is so safe”).

So:

晚上也很安全 – smooth, natural: “(It) is also very safe at night.”
晚上也安全 – grammatically possible but sounds a bit clipped or unusual in everyday speech unless you’re emphasizing contrast or using a special tone.

Here, 很 doesn’t always mean “very” strongly; it can function as a kind of “linking word” to make the adjective predicate feel natural.

In 因为晚上也很安全, what is actually safe? The road? The area? Why is the subject missing?

The subject is understood from context and doesn’t need to be repeated. Chinese allows “topic chains,” where once the topic is clear, later clauses can drop the subject.

Earlier we have 在这条马路上走 (“walking on this road”), so the listener understands the topic is “this road / this place.”

Thus:

因为晚上也很安全 literally: “Because (at) night also very safe.”
Understood as: “Because it’s also very safe here at night / because this road is also very safe at night.”

Chinese often omits repeated subjects when they’re obvious from context; English usually has to put them in.

Why use 走 here? How is it different from 走路 or something like 行走?

In this context:

走 (zǒu) = “to walk / to go (on foot).”
走路 (zǒulù) = literally “walk road,” also just means “to walk.”
行走 is more formal/literary: “to walk, to travel on foot.”

You could say:

我一点儿也不害怕在这条马路上走路 – also natural.

Using just 走 is very common and slightly shorter; 走路 may emphasize the action of walking a bit more, but in meaning here they’re essentially the same.

Why is 不 written as bú in 不害怕 (bú hàipà) instead of bù?

This is a tone sandhi rule. 不 (bù) normally has 4th tone, but:

When 不 is followed by another 4th-tone syllable, it changes to 2nd tone: bú.

害 (hài) is 4th tone, so:

不 + 害 (bù hài) → pronounced bú hài.

Other examples:

不是 – bú shì (not bù shì)
不对 – bú duì

If the next syllable is not 4th tone, 不 stays bù:

不好 – bù hǎo (3rd tone after it, no change)

What is the role of 儿 in 一点儿? Can I just say 一点 instead?

儿 (r) here is part of 儿化 (the “er-suffix”) common in northern Mandarin, especially Beijing.

一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) and 一点 (yìdiǎn) have the same meaning: “a little (bit).”

Regional and stylistic differences:

In northern speech and many textbooks: 一点儿 is more common.
In Taiwan and many southern areas: people usually say 一点 without the 儿.

So in this sentence, you could also say:

我一点也不害怕… – perfectly fine; same meaning.