Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ xiànzài yìdiǎnr yě bù è, yǐjīng hěn bǎo le. - I’m not hungry at all now; I’m already very full.

The 也 (or 都) itself doesn’t literally mean “also” here; in this structure it serves to strengthen the negation. You can think of it as helping to express “even … not”.

You’ll also hear:

一点儿都不饿 – same meaning; 也 and 都 are largely interchangeable here (using both is also common in speech: 一点儿也都不饿, but that’s more colloquial/emphatic).

What is the role of 一点儿 in 一点儿也不饿? Is it a number?

Literally, 一点儿 means “a little bit”, but in this pattern it helps build the meaning “not … at all”:

一点儿 = a tiny amount
一点儿也不饿 = “not hungry to even the tiniest degree” → “not hungry at all”.

So here 一点儿 is not about an actual quantity you’d measure; it’s part of a common idiomatic structure for strong negation:

一点儿 + 也/都 + 不 + adjective/verb

Examples:

我一点儿也不累。 – I’m not tired at all.
他一点儿都不懂。 – He doesn’t understand at all.

(In northern Mandarin, 一点儿 with the 儿 sound is very common; in the south people may say 一点 instead.)

Why is it 不饿 and not 没饿?

Chinese has two common negative words: 不 and 没. They’re not interchangeable.

不 is used for general, habitual, or current states and facts, and with most adjectives:
- 不饿, 不高兴, 不冷
没 is mostly used to negate past actions or existence:
- 没吃 (didn’t eat)
- 没去 (didn’t go)
- 没钱 (don’t have money / there isn’t money)

In 不饿, 饿 is functioning as an adjective (“hungry”), describing a current state. Adjectives take 不, not 没, so:

我现在不饿。 – correct
我现在没饿。 – generally wrong / unnatural

Why is there no 是 (like “to be”) before 饿 or 饱?

In Chinese, adjectives behave like stative verbs. You don’t normally use 是 before an adjective to say “to be [adjective]”.

So:

我饿。 (literally “I hungry.”) = “I am hungry.”
我饱了。 = “I am full (now).”
他很高兴。 = “He is happy.”

Using 是 before adjectives (like 我是饿) is usually incorrect or at least very unnatural in these basic descriptive sentences.

是 is mainly used for:

A 是 B (A = B):
- 我是老师。 – I am a teacher.
- 这本书是我的。 – This book is mine.

But not for simple “X is hungry/full/tired”: you just use the adjective directly.

Why do we need 很 in 已经很饱了? Can we just say 已经饱了?

Both are possible, but there’s a nuance.

已经饱了。
- Perfectly natural.
- Means: “(I’ve) already eaten enough; I’m full now.”
已经很饱了。
- Adds the idea of degree: “very full / quite full already.”

More generally, with many adjectives, Chinese often uses 很 almost like a default linker between the subject and the adjective:

我很忙。 feels more natural than 我忙。
他很高兴。 is more natural than 他高兴。 (bare adjective can feel contrastive: “he is happy (not sad)”)

With 饱, bare 饱了 is already quite natural, but 很饱了 makes it sound stronger: not just “I’ve had enough”, but “I’m very full” / “I really can’t eat any more.”

What does sentence-final 了 do in 很饱了? Why not just 已经很饱?

The sentence-final 了 here is the “change-of-state” 了. It signals that something has now become true, often as a result of a prior process (eating, in this case).

Compare:

我很饱。 – A plain statement: I am (very) full.
我很饱了。 – Implies “I wasn’t full before, but now I am” / “I’m (now) very full.”

With 已经, you’re explicitly saying “already”, and 了 reinforces that the state is now in effect:

已经很饱了。 – I’m already very full (now).

Without 了, 已经很饱 is grammatically possible but sounds incomplete in everyday speech; 已经 + adjective almost always feels more natural with a 了 when you’re describing the current result of some process.

Why is 现在 placed after 我, not at the very beginning or end?

All of these are grammatically possible:

我现在一点儿也不饿。
现在我一点儿也不饿。

Both are common. The typical neutral pattern is:

[Subject] + [Time word] + [Rest of the sentence]
e.g. 我现在不饿。

Putting 现在 at the very start (现在，我一点儿也不饿。) is also okay; it can feel a bit more like “As for now, …”, giving a slight topic/focus to “now”.

Putting 现在 at the very end (我一点儿也不饿现在) is generally wrong in modern Mandarin; time words don’t usually go sentence-final like that.

What’s the relationship between 已经 and 了? Aren’t they both about “already”?

They’re related but not the same:

已经 is an adverb meaning “already”, placed before the verb/adjective:
- 已经吃了。
- 已经很饱了。
了 here (sentence-final) is a particle marking a new or changed state.

In 已经很饱了, both together:

已经: explicitly says the state is already the case.
了: emphasizes that this state is now realized / has changed compared with before.

You can sometimes use one without the other, but:

已经很饱 – grammatical but sounds a bit incomplete in conversation.
很饱了 – fine, it implies “(I’m) full now” without explicitly saying “already”.

Using both is very natural and not redundant in Chinese.

Why is there a comma in the middle: 不饿，已经很饱了? Are these two separate sentences?

They’re two closely related clauses in one sentence:

我现在一点儿也不饿， – stating what is not true (not hungry at all)
已经很饱了。 – stating the actual state (already very full)

The comma (，) is a normal Chinese punctuation mark that often separates clauses like this, where:

The second clause explains, completes, or contrasts with the first.

You could write or say each part as a full sentence:

我现在一点儿也不饿。
我已经很饱了。

But putting them together with a comma makes the logic explicit: “I’m not hungry at all now; (in fact) I’m already very full.”

Can we drop 我 and just say 现在一点儿也不饿，已经很饱了?

Yes, in the right context.

Chinese often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context. If it’s clear we’re talking about you or I, then:

现在一点儿也不饿，已经很饱了。

would be understood as “I’m not hungry at all now; I’m already very full,” if you are talking about yourself, or “You’re not hungry…” if you’re talking to someone about them.

In isolation (with no context), adding 我 makes it clearer:

我现在一点儿也不饿，已经很饱了。

Is 一点儿也不 only used with adjectives like 饿, or can it be used with verbs too?

You can use 一点儿也不 / 一点儿都不 with adjectives and verbs, as long as the meaning “not at all / not even a little” makes sense.

With adjectives:

一点儿也不饿 – not hungry at all
一点儿也不累 – not tired at all
一点儿都不冷 – not cold at all

With verbs:

一点儿也不想去。 – Don’t want to go at all.
一点儿都不懂。 – Don’t understand at all.
一点儿也不喝酒。 – Don’t drink alcohol at all.

So it’s a general emphatic negation pattern, not limited to adjectives like 饿.

What’s the difference between 一点儿也不饿 and just 不饿?

不饿 = “not hungry”
- Neutral statement. Could mean “I’m fine for now, but maybe I could eat a bit.”
一点儿也不饿 = “not hungry at all”
- Stronger. Implies zero hunger, no desire to eat, and often hints that eating more would be uncomfortable or unnecessary.

Given the second clause 已经很饱了, it makes sense to use the stronger expression 一点儿也不饿 to match the idea of being “already very full.”

Is there any difference between saying 一点儿也不饿 and 完全不饿?

Both express a strong “not at all” meaning, but with a slightly different feel:

一点儿也不饿
- Very common, colloquial, feels natural in everyday speech.
- Literally: “not hungry even a little bit.”
完全不饿
- Uses 完全 (“completely”), a bit more formal or “bookish” sounding.
- Literally: “completely not hungry.”

In daily conversation about food, 一点儿也不饿 (or 一点儿都不饿) is more typical. 完全不饿 is correct but can sound slightly more formal or emphatic in a different way.