Learn Hardcore Chinese: Zài péngyou zhōng, dàjiā dōu juéde zìyóu biǎodá zìjǐ de xiǎngfǎ hěn zhòngyào. - Among friends, everyone feels that being free to express their own ideas is very important.

在朋友中 or 在朋友当中 is more idiomatic for "among friends (as a group / in that circle)."
在……里 usually emphasizes a physical "inside" or a more concrete container (in the room, in the box, in the book), though it can also be used more abstractly.

For "among friends," 在朋友中 or 在朋友当中 is the most natural choice.

Why do we have both 大家 and 都? Aren’t they both “all”? Isn’t that redundant?

They do both relate to "all," but they function differently and often appear together:

大家 = everybody / all of us (subject: the group of people)
都 = all / both (adverb: emphasizes that the statement applies to every member of the group)

Structure here:
大家（subject） + 都（adverb） + 觉得……

So it’s like saying:
"Everybody all feels that..." → "Everybody feels that..."

In natural Chinese, 大家都 is extremely common and doesn’t feel redundant.
You could say only:

大家觉得…… (still OK, but sounds a bit less emphatic)
他们都觉得…… (they all think…)

But 大家都觉得…… is the most typical way to express "everyone thinks…".

Is 都 always required after 大家, or can I leave it out?

都 is not grammatically required, but it is very common and natural.

Compare:

大家觉得自由表达自己的想法很重要。
– Everyone thinks it’s important. (natural, neutral)
大家都觉得自由表达自己的想法很重要。
– Everyone all thinks it’s important. (natural, slightly more clearly "everyone, without exception")

In everyday speech and writing, 大家都 is probably more common than 大家 alone when you’re making a general statement about everyone’s opinion or behavior.

Leaving out 都 is usually fine, but including 都 often sounds better and clearer.

What’s the nuance of 觉得 here? Is it “feel” or “think”? Could I use 认为 or 想 instead?

觉得 (juéde) can mean both "feel" and "think", especially for personal opinions or impressions:

我觉得这本书很好。 – I think/feel this book is great.

Nuance of alternatives:

认为 (rènwéi) – more formal, often used for more reasoned, objective-sounding opinions:
- 专家认为…… – Experts consider that…
想 (xiǎng) – "to think, to want, to plan." As "think," it often focuses on the mental action, or on what someone is thinking at a given time:
- 我在想这件事。 – I’m thinking about this matter.

In this sentence, we’re talking about people’s personal view/value, so:

觉得 is the most natural.
认为 would sound more formal/academic: 大家都认为自由表达自己的想法很重要。
想 here would be odd; you wouldn’t normally say 大家都想自由表达自己的想法很重要.

In 自由表达自己, is 自由 an adjective ("free") or an adverb ("freely")? Why no 地 (de)?

Semantically, 自由 here means "freely" (adverbial function), but 形容词 (adjectives) in Chinese often directly modify verbs without 地:

认真学习 – study seriously
努力工作 – work hard
自由表达 – express freely

You could say 自由地表达, and it is correct, slightly more formal or explicit. But in modern Chinese, especially in spoken or casual written language, it’s very common to omit 地 when the meaning is clear.

So:

自由表达自己 = "freely express oneself"
自由地表达自己 = same meaning, just a bit more "textbook" or written style.

Why do we need 的 in 自己的想法? Can we say 自由表达自己想法 without 的?

自己 = oneself
想法 = ideas / thoughts

的 marks possession or modification:

自己的想法 = one’s own ideas

You can say:

自由表达自己的想法 – very standard and natural
自由表达自己想法 – also possible, especially in fast speech, but less standard; it can sound a bit clipped.

Generally, when pronoun + 名词 (noun), using 的 is the safe, correct form:

我的书 – my book
你的名字 – your name
他的意见 – his opinion
自己的想法 – one’s own ideas

So for learners, keep 的: 自己的想法.

In 自由表达自己的想法, what exactly does 自己 refer to? Each person individually or "ourselves" as a group?

自己 is reflexive: it refers back to the subject of the sentence.

Subject here: 大家 (everyone). So:

自己 = each person’s own self
自己的想法 = each person’s own ideas

In English we’d naturally translate it as:

"freely express their own ideas" or
"freely express one’s own ideas"

Even though 自己 is singular in form, with a plural subject like 大家, it refers to each individual in that group.

Why is 很 before 重要? Does it really mean “very important,” or is it just grammar?

This is a classic point in Chinese.

In sentences like:

自由表达自己的想法很重要。

很 often does not strongly mean "very". It’s working more like a link between subject and adjective (a bit like "is" in English), and it softens the statement so it doesn’t sound too bare or abrupt.

Compare:

自由表达自己的想法重要。 – grammatically possible but usually sounds a bit stiff or unnatural in modern Mandarin.
自由表达自己的想法很重要。 – natural, standard sentence.

If you really want to emphasize "VERY important," you can strengthen further:

非常重要 – extremely important
特别重要 – especially important

So:
Here 很 is partly grammatical "padding," and only mildly means "very."

Could the sentence be reordered to 大家都觉得在朋友中自由表达自己的想法很重要? Is that still correct?

Yes, that word order is also correct and very natural:

Original: 在朋友中，大家都觉得自由表达自己的想法很重要。
Variant: 大家都觉得在朋友中自由表达自己的想法很重要。

Nuance:

Putting 在朋友中 at the start makes "among friends" the topic/background: "As for among friends, everyone thinks…"
Putting 在朋友中 after 觉得 puts it inside the thought: "Everyone thinks that, among friends, freely expressing your own ideas is very important."

Both are fine. Topic-fronting (moving 在朋友中 to the start) is very common in Chinese.

What’s the difference between 中 and 之间 in "among friends"? Could I say 在朋友之间?

Yes, you can say 在朋友之间, and it’s also natural.

Subtle differences:

在朋友中
- Slightly more "inside the group of friends"
- Often used when you’re looking at the group as a whole ("In this group of friends…")
在朋友之间
- Literally "between friends"
- Often used when emphasizing relationships or interactions between the members:
  - 在朋友之间应该互相信任。 – Between friends, there should be mutual trust.

In this sentence, both 在朋友中 and 在朋友之间 are OK.
在朋友中 may sound a bit more neutral and grouped; 在朋友之间 may slightly highlight the interpersonal context.

Why is 朋友 (péngyou) written with you instead of yǒu? Is the second syllable neutral tone?

Yes, the second syllable 友 in 朋友 is usually pronounced in neutral tone in everyday speech:

Standard dictionary form: péngyǒu (two 3rd tones)
Actual common pronunciation: péngyou (first 3rd tone, then neutral tone)

Neutral tone syllables often appear in common two-character words where the second character is de-stressed:

妈妈 māma
爸爸 bàba
中国人 Zhōngguórén → Zhōngguórén / Zhōngguóren (often neutral on 人 in fast speech)

So péngyou reflects the typical spoken form.

Why is 想法 used here instead of 意见 or 看法? Do they mean the same thing?

They are similar but have different typical uses:

想法 – ideas, ways of thinking, personal thoughts (often internal, subjective)
- 他的想法很有创意。 – His ideas are very creative.
意见 – opinions, suggestions, sometimes complaints
- 你有什么意见吗？ – Do you have any suggestions / objections?
看法 – views, perspectives; often on an issue or topic
- 你对这件事有什么看法？ – What’s your view on this matter?

自由表达自己的想法 emphasizes each person’s inner thoughts / ideas.
You could also say:

自由表达自己的意见 – freely express your opinions (esp. in discussions/meetings)
自由表达自己的看法 – freely express your views (on issues)

All three can work, but 想法 makes it a bit broader and more personal.

Is there any measure word missing here, like 一些想法 or 自己的一个想法? Why can we just say 自己的想法?

Chinese often doesn’t need a measure word when you talk about something in a general, uncountable sense:

喝水 – drink water (no measure word)
说话 – speak (lit. "say words")
表达意见 – express opinions (general concept)

Here, 自己的想法 is a general, abstract "one’s ideas/thoughts" as a category, not specific countable units. That’s why:

自由表达自己的想法 – naturally means "freely express your ideas."

If you add a measure word, you start to specify quantity:

表达自己的一个想法 – express one of your ideas
表达自己的一些想法 – express some of your ideas

The original sentence is making a general value statement, so no measure word is needed.