Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ xiǎng tígāo zhōngwén shuǐpíng, bù shì wèile ràng chéngjì gèng hǎo, érshì wèile kěyǐ gēn gèng duō péngyou zìyóu biǎodá zìjǐ de xiǎngfǎ. - I want to improve my Chinese level not to make my grades better, but so that I can freely express my ideas with more friends.

我想提高中文水平
- 想 = “would like to / want to”
- Sounds like a personal wish or plan, relatively soft and polite.
我要提高中文水平
- 要 = “am going to / must / will”
- Stronger, more determined or goal‑like. It can sound like you’ve decided and are committed.
我想要提高中文水平
- 想要 is a bit more emphatic than 想, closer to “I really want to improve…”.
- In many contexts it’s interchangeable with 想, just a little heavier emotionally.

In this sentence, 想 fits well because it’s expressing a general desire and motivation, not a firm declaration or requirement.

What’s the difference between 中文 and 汉语? Could I say 提高汉语水平 instead?

Both are fine here, but they have slightly different typical uses:

中文
- Literally: “Chinese writing/language”
- Common in everyday speech to mean the Chinese language in general (both spoken and written).
- Very natural in a sentence about “Chinese level” for learners.
汉语
- Literally: “the language of the Han people”
- More specifically refers to the Chinese language, especially Mandarin, as a linguistic system.
- Often seen in textbooks, more formal or academic contexts.

So you can absolutely say:

我想提高汉语水平。

It means essentially the same thing. 中文水平 is just slightly more colloquial/neutral.

Why do we say 提高中文水平 instead of just 提高中文?

You can hear 提高中文 in casual speech, and people will understand you, but it sounds a bit incomplete.

提高中文水平 = “improve (my) level in Chinese / proficiency in Chinese”
- 水平 focuses on your skill level, proficiency.
- This is the most natural collocation.
提高中文 literally reads like “improve Chinese (the language itself)”, which is slightly odd if taken literally. Native speakers will interpret it as “improve my Chinese”, but 提高中文水平 is clearer and more idiomatic.

Common set phrases are:

提高中文水平 / 汉语水平 – improve one’s Chinese level
提高口语能力 – improve speaking ability
提高听力 / 阅读水平 – improve listening/reading level

What exactly does 水平 (shuǐpíng) mean here?

水平 literally means “level” or “standard”. In language learning it means your ability level / proficiency.

So 中文水平 = “Chinese level”, i.e. how good your Chinese is.

Examples:

他的中文水平很高。 – His Chinese is at a very high level.
我的听力水平比较差。 – My listening level is relatively poor.

How does the structure 不是为了……，而是为了…… work? Is 是 necessary?

The pattern is:

不是 A，而是 B = not A, but rather B

When you add 为了 (“for the sake of / in order to”), you get:

不是为了 A，而是为了 B
“not for the sake of A, but for the sake of B”

In your sentence:

不是为了让成绩更好 – not in order to make my grades better
而是为了可以跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法 – but rather in order to be able to freely express my ideas with more friends

About 是:

Here 不是 is one word (bùshì), not “不 + 是” separately.
In this pattern, 是 is standard and makes the contrast stronger.
You will occasionally see 不为(了)…而为(了)… in more formal/literary writing, but 不是为了…而是为了… is the normal conversational pattern.

So yes, 是 is part of a fixed, very common structure here.

What does 让 do in 让成绩更好? Could we drop it and just say 成绩更好?

让 is a causative verb here, meaning “to make / to cause / to let”.

Structure:

让 + object + adjective / verb phrase

In this sentence:

让成绩更好 = “to make the grades better”
- 让 = make/cause
- 成绩 = grades/results
- 更好 = better

If you say:

为了成绩更好 – “for the grades to be better”

this is possible and understandable, but:

为了让成绩更好 emphasizes the idea of actively making / causing the grades to improve, not just that they will somehow be better.

So:

With 让: focus on your action causing an improvement.
Without 让: more like “for the sake of better grades” (a bit more static).

Both can be used, but 为了让成绩更好 is very natural and common.

What exactly does 成绩 mean here? How is it different from 分数?

Both relate to academic performance, but they differ:

成绩 (chéngjì)
- General achievement/performance, often in school/exams.
- Can mean overall grades or results, not just one number.
- Ex: 学习成绩 – academic performance.
分数 (fēnshù)
- A numerical score (e.g. 98/100).
- Ex: 考试分数 – exam score.

In this sentence:

让成绩更好 = “make my performance/grades better overall.”
If you said 让分数更高, that would focus more narrowly on getting higher numerical scores.

Why is 更 used in 更好 and 更多? When do I need 更?

更 (gèng) means “even more / more / -er” and is used to form comparisons or indicate improvement:

更好 – better
更多 – more (in quantity)

In this sentence:

让成绩更好 – make my grades better (than they currently are)
跟更多朋友 – with more friends (than now)

You use 更:

For comparing a current or future state with a previous one:
- 我想更健康。 – I want to be healthier.
For “even more …” or “more … than before/than X”:
- 这次考得更好。 – This time I did even better on the exam.

Sometimes the comparison is only implied (as here: compared with my current grades / number of friends).

Why do we have both 为了 and 可以 in 为了可以跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法? Is that redundant?

The structure is:

为了 + [result/purpose]

Here the result is:

可以跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法
– can / be able to freely express my ideas with more friends

So literally:

为了可以… = “in order to be able to …”

Is it redundant? Not really, but you have options:

Keep both (as in your sentence)
- Emphasizes that improving Chinese will give you the ability to do that.
- Very natural in speech.
Drop 可以
- 为了跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法
- Focuses slightly more on the goal itself than on the ability.
- Also perfectly natural.
Drop 为了 and keep 可以 (change structure)
- …而是可以跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法。
- Now it’s “but (so that I) can freely express…”, not in the same “为了…而是为了…” parallel pattern.

In formal writing, people often prefer choice (2) or (3) to avoid feeling wordy, but the original is fully acceptable.

Why is 跟 used instead of 和 for “with more friends”? Are 跟 and 和 interchangeable?

In many everyday contexts, 跟 and 和 are interchangeable when they mean “with”:

跟朋友聊天 ≈ 和朋友聊天 – chat with friends
跟他一起去 ≈ 和他一起去 – go together with him

Differences in feel:

跟
- Slightly more colloquial, common in spoken Mandarin.
- Often used for “with (someone)” in the sense of doing something together or interacting.
和
- Slightly more formal/neutral; very common in both speech and writing.
- Also used to connect nouns: 苹果和香蕉 – apples and bananas.

In 跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法, you could safely say:

和更多朋友自由表达自己的想法

Both sound natural. The use of 跟 just gives it a casual spoken tone.

Should there be a 地 in 自由表达, like 自由地表达?

Grammatically:

自由地表达 is the “full” form:
- 自由 (adjective) + 地 (adverb marker) + 表达 (verb)
- Literally: “freely express”

In real usage:

It is very common to drop 地 in spoken and even written Chinese, especially when the meaning is clear and the phrase is short.
So 自由表达 is completely natural and common.

Compare:

认真地学习 → often said as 认真学习
快乐地生活 → often said as 快乐生活

So both:

自由表达自己的想法
自由地表达自己的想法

are correct. The version without 地 is a bit more colloquial and concise.

Why do we say 自己 when we already have 我 earlier in the sentence? Could it just be 表达我的想法?

Both are possible, but they feel different.

表达我的想法 – “express my ideas”
- Straightforward possession using 我.
表达自己的想法 – “express one’s own ideas”
- 自己 is a reflexive pronoun: “self / oneself”.
- Here it refers back to the subject 我, so it still means “my own”, but with a different nuance.

Why use 自己 here?

It emphasizes “my own” ideas, not someone else’s.
It’s a very common way to talk about your inner thoughts, feelings, and opinions:
- 表达自己的感受 – express one’s own feelings
- 坚持自己的看法 – stick to one’s own view

You could say:

…可以跟更多朋友自由表达我的想法。

It’s correct, just slightly more neutral. 自己的想法 feels more like “what I myself really think”.

What is the role of 的 in 自己的想法?

的 is the particle that links a modifier to a noun.

Structure:

[modifier] + 的 + [noun]

Here:

Modifier: 自己 (oneself)
Noun: 想法 (ideas/thoughts)
Whole phrase: 自己的想法 – one’s own ideas

Similarly:

我的书 – my book
重要的事情 – important thing(s)
新的词汇 – new vocabulary

Without 的, 自己想法 is not grammatical. You need 的 to connect 自己 and 想法.

How is the last part of the sentence structured? Why is it 跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法 and not some other order?

The structure inside 可以跟更多朋友自由表达自己的想法 is:

可以 – can / be able to (modal verb)
跟更多朋友 – with more friends (prepositional phrase)
自由 – freely (adverbial adjective)
表达 – express (main verb)
自己的想法 – one’s own ideas (object)

In Chinese, the typical order is:

[modal] + [preposition phrase] + [manner] + [verb] + [object]

So:

可以 + 跟更多朋友 + 自由 + 表达 + 自己的想法

If you rearrange too much, it starts to sound unnatural or change meaning. For example:

可以自由跟更多朋友表达自己的想法 – also fine; just puts 自由 right before 跟更多朋友表达.
可以表达自己自由的想法跟更多朋友 – sounds odd; now it suggests “express your free ideas to more friends”, which is a different focus.

The given order is very typical and clear:
“can, with more friends, freely express one’s own ideas.”

How is 提高 different from words like 进步 or 提升 when talking about language learning?

These verbs are related but used differently:

提高 (tígāo) – to raise / improve (something)
- Usually takes an object:
  - 提高中文水平 – improve (one’s) Chinese level
  - 提高效率 – improve efficiency
进步 (jìnbù) – to make progress
- Often intransitive (no direct object):
  - 我的中文进步了。 – My Chinese has improved / I’ve made progress in Chinese.
- As a noun: 有进步 – there is progress.
提升 (tíshēng) – to upgrade / elevate / promote
- More formal, common in business/self‑help contexts:
  - 提升能力 – enhance ability
  - 提升竞争力 – boost competitiveness.

In this sentence, 提高中文水平 is the most natural choice because you are explicitly talking about raising a level (水平) of something. You wouldn’t normally say 进步中文水平. You could say:

让我的中文有进步 – make my Chinese improve / show progress.

But then the structure of the sentence would change.