Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān de tiānqì yòu lěng yòu xiàyǔ, wǒ zhǐ xiǎng zài kètīng lǐ xiūxi. - Today the weather is both cold and rainy; I just want to rest in the living room.

今天的天气 = the weather of today
今天天气 is possible in casual spoken Chinese but sounds a bit clipped or stylistic. The 的 makes it a clear, standard noun phrase.

So 今天的天气又冷又下雨 is like “Today’s weather is both cold and rainy.”
Without 的, it can sound like you’re putting two nouns side by side, which is less natural in standard modern Mandarin for this case.

What exactly does the pattern 又…又… mean, and when do we use it?

又…又… is a very common pattern meaning “both … and …” when listing two (usually negative or undesirable, but not always) qualities or actions.

Structure:

又 + adjective/verb + 又 + adjective/verb

In this sentence:

又冷又下雨 = “(it is) both cold and (it is) raining.”

Other examples:

他又高又瘦。 – He’s both tall and thin.
这道菜又咸又辣。 – This dish is both salty and spicy.

It’s similar to English “It’s cold and rainy”, but the repetition of 又 gives a stronger sense of “on top of that” / “and also.”

Can we add 很 and say 今天的天气又很冷又下雨 or 又冷又很下雨?

No, we normally don’t insert 很 inside the 又…又… structure like that.

Within 又…又…, the adjectives or verbs typically appear in their plain form:
- ✅ 又冷又下雨
- ❌ 又很冷又下雨
- ❌ 又冷又很下雨

If you really want to emphasize degree, you’d usually do it outside this pattern or with a different structure, for example:

今天的天气很冷，而且还下雨。 – The weather today is very cold, and it’s also raining.

Is 下雨 a verb (“to rain”) or a noun phrase (“rain”)? How should I think of it?

In Chinese, 下雨 (xià yǔ) is used as a verb phrase meaning “to rain” (literally “to fall rain”).

Some patterns:

今天下雨。 – It’s raining today.
昨天晚上下了很大的雨。 – It rained heavily last night.
要下雨了。 – It’s going to rain.

So in 又冷又下雨, both 冷 (“to be cold”) and 下雨 (“to rain”) are functioning as predicates, just like two verbs/adjectives in parallel.

Why is 冷 used without 是? Why don’t we say 天气是冷的?

In Mandarin, many adjectives (like 冷, 热, 高, 小) act as stative verbs. They can directly serve as the predicate without needing 是.

天气冷。 – The weather is cold.
他很高。 – He is tall.

Using 是 + adjective is possible in some structures (e.g., for contrast or emphasis), but it’s not the “basic” way to say “X is Adj.” Here, 又冷又下雨 is a predicate made of two stative verbs, so no 是 is needed.

Why do we have both 在 and 里 in 在客厅里? Can we just say 在客厅?

在 means “at / in / on (location)”.
里 means “inside”.

在客厅里 literally = “(to) be at, inside the living room.”

You can usually say 在客厅 or 在客厅里 with almost no difference in meaning here:

我只想在客厅休息。 – I only want to rest in the living room.
我只想在客厅里休息。 – Same meaning; 里 adds a slight sense of “inside that space,” but it’s very natural and common.

So:

✅ 在客厅里
✅ 在客厅 Both are fine in this sentence.

What does 只想 mean exactly? How is it different from just 想 or from 只要?

想 by itself here means “want to / feel like (doing)”.
- 我想休息。 – I want to rest / I feel like resting.
只想 adds “only”:
- 我只想在客厅里休息。 – I only want to rest in the living room (and don’t want to do anything else).
只要 is different; it means “as long as / only if”:
- 只要你来，我就很高兴。 – As long as you come, I’ll be happy.

So 只想 = 只 + 想 = “only want (to)”
It is not interchangeable with 只要.

Is 想 here “to think” or “to want”? How do we know?

想 (xiǎng) has several meanings, mainly:

to think / to consider
to miss (someone)
to want / to feel like (doing something)

In 我只想在客厅里休息, the context is about your desire / intention in bad weather, so it clearly means “want / feel like”.

Usually:

想 + verb → “want to do X / feel like doing X”
- 我想睡觉。 – I want to sleep.
- 我想看看电视。 – I want to watch some TV.

If it meant “to think,” it would more likely be about thought content, e.g.:

我想，这个办法可以。 – I think this method will work.

Why isn’t there an “it” subject for raining, like in English “It is raining”?

English needs a dummy subject (“it”) in sentences like “It’s raining,” “It’s cold.”

Chinese does not use a dummy subject. Instead, you either:

Use a specific subject (like 今天的天气)
- 今天的天气又冷又下雨。
Or just state the weather condition with no subject:
- 今天下雨。 – (Today) it’s raining.
- 今天很冷。 – (Today) it’s very cold.

So there’s no word in Chinese that corresponds to this dummy “it.” The sentence is still complete and grammatical without it.

Could we drop the 我 and just say 只想在客厅里休息?

Yes, in context, Chinese often drops the subject when it’s obvious from the situation or previous sentences.

If you’re already talking about yourself:
- （我）只想在客厅里休息。

This would be very natural in conversation.
In an isolated sentence, including 我 makes it clearer, especially for learners. Both are grammatically fine.

Why is there no 了 after 下雨? Could we say 又冷又下雨了?

了 often marks a change of state or a completed event.

下雨了。 – It (has started to) rain / It’s raining now (change of state).
又冷又下雨了。 – It has (now) become both cold and rainy / Now it’s cold and raining.

In 今天的天气又冷又下雨, the sentence is giving a general description of today’s weather, not focusing on the change. So 了 is not necessary.

If you want to emphasize that the weather has just turned cold and rainy, then using 了 is fine:

今天的天气又冷又下雨了。 – Now the weather today has become cold and rainy.

Is 休息 the same as “sleep”? When would I use 休息 instead of 睡觉?

休息 (xiūxi) means “to rest / to take a break”, not specifically sleep.

我想在客厅里休息。 – I want to rest/relax in the living room. (maybe sit, watch TV, lie down, etc.)
睡觉 (shuìjiào) means “to sleep / to go to bed.”
- 我想回房间睡觉。 – I want to go back to my room to sleep.

So in this sentence, 休息 is more general: you just don’t want to go out or do anything; you want to relax in the living room, not necessarily sleep.

Is the whole sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Would it be okay in both speech and writing?

The sentence 今天的天气又冷又下雨，我只想在客厅里休息。 is neutral and natural. It fits:

Spoken Chinese: very common, everyday style.
Informal writing: messages, emails to friends, diary entries, social media, etc.

For very formal writing (like news or academic text), people might choose a more formal style, but your sentence is perfectly correct and idiomatic for most everyday contexts.