Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ zhù de gōngyù bú dà, dànshì huánjìng yòu ānjìng yòu ānquán. - The apartment I live in isn’t big, but the environment is both quiet and safe.

So here, 住 is a verb, and 我住的 is a verb phrase + 的 that works like an adjective to describe 公寓. This use of 的 is very common after verbs to form “the thing that (verb) …” structures, e.g.:

我买的书 – the book that I bought
他写的信 – the letter that he wrote

What’s the difference between 我住的公寓 and 我的公寓?

Both can be translated as “my apartment,” but the focus is different:

我的公寓 focuses on possession:
- the apartment that belongs to me / that is mine.
我住的公寓 focuses on where I live:
- the apartment that I live in (maybe I rent it, maybe I don’t own it).

In real use:

If you’re talking about where you currently live, 我住的公寓 is especially natural.
If you want to emphasize ownership (e.g., you bought it), 我的公寓 is more natural.
In many everyday situations, both are possible, but the nuance shifts toward “lived in” vs. “owned by me.”

Why does it say 不大 (bú dà) instead of just using 小 (xiǎo) for “small”?

不大 literally means “not big”, and it’s softer and less absolute than 小 (“small”).

不大 often implies:
- “not very big,” “on the small side,” “not spacious”
- It can feel more neutral or polite.
小 can sound more definite:
- “small” / “quite small.”

Compare:

我住的公寓不大 – My apartment isn’t big (maybe small-ish, but not necessarily tiny).
我住的公寓很小 – My apartment is very small (sounds more strongly small).

Chinese often uses 不 + adjective (like 不大, 不高, 不好) to make descriptions sound more moderate and less blunt.

Why is 不 pronounced bú instead of bù in 不大 (bú dà)?

This is a standard tone change rule (tone sandhi) in Mandarin:

不 (bù) normally has fourth tone.
When 不 is followed by another fourth-tone syllable (like 大 dà), it changes to second tone (bú) to make pronunciation smoother.

So:

不 + 大 (dà, 4th tone) → bú dà
不 + 忙 (máng, 2nd tone) → bù máng (no change, because 忙 isn’t 4th tone)

This is why you hear bú dà, bú shì, bú zhìdào, etc., all before fourth-tone syllables.

How does the structure 又……又…… work in 又安静又安全?

又……又…… is a common pattern meaning “both … and …” or “not only … but also …” for two parallel qualities.

In this sentence:

又安静又安全 = both quiet and safe

Key points:

You repeat 又 before each adjective (or verb):
- 又高又帅 – tall and handsome
- 又快又便宜 – fast and cheap
It usually links two similar kinds of words (both adjectives, or both verbs).
The order can usually be swapped:
- 又安静又安全 ≈ 又安全又安静, with no big change in meaning.

So 环境又安静又安全 literally means “the environment is both quiet and safe.”

Can I say 环境安静又安全 or 环境很安静，也很安全 instead of 环境又安静又安全? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are possible; the meaning is similar but the style/feeling is a bit different.

环境又安静又安全
- Compact, balanced structure; feels neat and emphatic.
- Often used in spoken and written Chinese for “A is both X and Y.”
环境安静又安全
- Still understandable; some speakers do say this.
- Feels slightly less symmetrical; 又……又…… is the more “standard” pattern.
环境很安静，也很安全
- More “explicit,” closer to English “very quiet and also very safe.”
- Using 很 softens the adjectives; 也 explicitly adds the second point.

All three convey that the environment is quiet and safe; 又……又…… just packages the two qualities together more tightly.

What exactly does 环境 (huánjìng) mean here? Is it like “environment” in the sense of pollution, or more like “neighborhood”?

In this context, 环境 is broader and more concrete than just “environment” as in environmental pollution.

Around housing, 环境 usually refers to:
- the surroundings of the apartment
- the general atmosphere and conditions of the area
- things like noise level, safety, cleanliness, greenery, neighbors, etc.

So 环境又安静又安全 is best taken as:

“The surroundings / neighborhood / living environment is both quiet and safe,”
not specifically about environmental protection or climate issues.

Why is there no 是 (shì) in 环境又安静又安全? In English we say “The environment is quiet and safe.”

In Chinese, when an adjective is used as the main predicate, you normally don’t need 是:

环境很安静。 – The environment is quiet.
他很高。 – He is tall.

是 is usually not used directly before plain adjectives like this. With 又……又……, the adjectives directly follow the subject:

环境又安静又安全。 – The environment is (both) quiet and safe.

You can say things like 环境是又安静又安全的, but that adds 是…的 as a special structure for emphasis or explanation; it sounds heavier and is not needed in a simple description.

What’s the role of 但是 (dànshì) in this sentence? Could I leave it out or use 可是 (kěshì) instead?

但是 is a conjunction meaning “but/however.” It marks a contrast between:

我住的公寓不大 – My apartment is not big
环境又安静又安全 – but the environment is both quiet and safe.

You can:

Replace 但是 with 可是:
- 我住的公寓不大，可是环境又安静又安全。
- In everyday speech, 但是 and 可是 are very close; 但是 can feel slightly more formal.
Omit it in casual speech, especially when the contrast is obvious from context:
- 我住的公寓不大，环境又安静又安全。
- Still understandable, but the contrast is less explicitly marked.

Using 但是 makes the “not big, but (still good because…) quiet and safe” contrast clearer.

Could the sentence be 我住的公寓不大，但是又安静又安全 without 环境? What would that mean?

Yes, you can say:

我住的公寓不大，但是又安静又安全。

In that version:

又安静又安全 directly describes 公寓 (the apartment) itself.
It means: “The apartment I live in isn’t big, but it’s quiet and safe.”

In the original sentence:

但是环境又安静又安全 shifts the description to the surroundings / neighborhood rather than the apartment’s interior.
So including 环境 emphasizes the overall environment of the place, not just the apartment as an object.

Can the order of 安静 and 安全 be changed, like 又安全又安静? Does the order matter?

You can absolutely say 又安全又安静 instead of 又安静又安全.

In 又……又……, the two adjectives are usually interchangeable in order.
The order often reflects speaker preference, rhythm, or what they think of first, not a strict rule.

So:

环境又安静又安全 ≈ 环境又安全又安静
Both mean “the environment is both quiet and safe,” with no real change in meaning.