Learn Hardcore Chinese: xiàbān yǐhòu wǒ bù xiǎng zài fángjiān lǐ shàngwǎng, zhǐ xiǎng zài gōngyuán tī yíhuìr zúqiú. - After work I don’t want to go online in my room; I just want to play soccer in the park for a while.

下班以后我… literally = “After (I) finish work, I…”
In Chinese, if it’s obvious who the subject is (here it’s 我 later in the sentence), you can often leave it out in the time phrase:
- 下班以后，我不想…
- 我下班以后，不想…
  Both are grammatically correct; the first is more typical.

So 下班以后我不想… is perfectly normal: the 我 is the subject of the main clause, and we don’t need to repeat it in the time expression.

What’s the difference between 下班以后 and 下班了以后? Do I need the 了?

Both are possible, but 下班以后 is more common and simple.

下班以后 = “after getting off work” (a general time sequence)
下班了以后 adds a bit more focus on the completion of the action, like “after (I have) gotten off work”.

In everyday speech, people usually just say 下班以后. You can add 了 if you want to emphasize the fact that the action has been completed, but it’s not required here.

Why is 不想 used here instead of 不要 or 没想? They all seem like “don’t want” or “didn’t think.”

In this sentence, 不想 is the natural choice:

想 here means “to want / feel like (doing something)”.
不想在房间里上网 = “don’t want to surf the Internet in the room”.

Comparisons:

不要 usually means “don’t (do it)” as a command or instruction:
- 不要说话。 = “Don’t talk.” It’s not used for “I don’t feel like doing X” in this way.
没想 usually means “didn’t think / didn’t plan”:
- 我没想去。 = “I didn’t plan to go / I hadn’t thought of going.”
  That’s more about past intention (or lack of intention), not a present desire.

So for “I don’t feel like doing X / I don’t want to do X (right now / in general)”, 不想 is the right verb.

Why do we use 不想…只想… instead of something like “I don’t want to A, I just want to B” with a conjunction like 但是 or 而是?

Chinese often relies on parallel structure instead of extra conjunctions.

我不想在房间里上网，只想在公园踢一会儿足球。
Literally: “I don’t want to surf the Internet in my room, only want to play soccer in the park for a while.”

Here, 只想 (“only want”) itself expresses the contrast and limitation, so you don’t need 但是 (“but”) or 而是 (“but rather”).

You could say:

我不想在房间里上网，只想在公园踢一会儿足球。 ✅ (natural)
我不想在房间里上网，而是只想在公园踢一会儿足球。 ✅ (also OK, more explicit contrast)

But the simple 不想…，只想… is already clear and idiomatic.

Why is the subject 我 missing in the second part 只想在公园踢一会儿足球?

Chinese often drops repeated subjects when it’s clear from context.

Full version: 下班以后我不想在房间里上网，只(是)想在公园踢一会儿足球。
The second 我 is understood to be the same person as in the first clause, so it’s omitted:
- 我不想…，(我)只想… → 我不想…，只想…

This is very typical and sounds more natural than repeating 我.

Why do we have both 在 and 里 in 在房间里上网? Can I say 在房间上网 or 房间里上网?

All three are possible, but they differ slightly:

在房间里上网 (most natural and explicit)
- 在 marks the location of the action.
- 里 emphasizes “inside” the room.
  Meaning: “go online in the room (inside the room).”
在房间上网
- Still acceptable; 房间 already implies a room/inside, so many speakers might drop 里.
- Slightly less explicit geospatially but fine in everyday speech.
房间里上网 (without 在)
- Also possible, but you’re omitting the location marker 在.
- This kind of omission happens in casual speech, but 在房间里上网 is a bit clearer and more standard.

For learners, 在 + place + 里 + verb is a good, safe pattern:
在房间里上网, 在家里学习, 在教室里上课.

Why is there 在 in 在公园踢一会儿足球? Does it mean “to be doing something”, like a progressive tense, or is it a location marker?

Here 在 is a location marker, not the progressive aspect marker.

在 + place + verb = do something at/in a place.
- 在公园踢足球 = “play soccer in the park.”
- 在家吃饭 = “eat at home.”
- 在学校工作 = “work at a school.”

The progressive 在 usually appears before the verb directly, not before a location word:

Progressive: 我在吃饭。 = “I am eating.”
Location: 我在家吃饭。 = “I eat at home / am eating at home.”

In the sentence you gave, 在公园 clearly means “in the park”.

Why is 上网 used instead of something like 用电脑? What exactly does 上网 mean?

上网 literally means “go onto the net” → “to go online / surf the Internet”.

上 = to go up/onto
网 = net / Internet
So 上网 = use the Internet (browse, chat online, watch videos, etc.), not just “use the computer”.

用电脑 means “use a computer”, which could be for offline things: typing, playing a game from a USB stick, watching a downloaded movie, etc. It doesn’t necessarily mean “online”.

In your sentence, the focus is “being on the Internet”, so 上网 is the right verb.

Why do we say 踢足球 and not 玩足球 for “play soccer”?

In Chinese, different sports often have specific verbs:

踢足球 = “kick soccer ball” → “play soccer”
打篮球 = “hit/play basketball” → “play basketball”
打网球 = “play tennis”
打羽毛球 = “play badminton”

玩 is more general: “to play / to have fun (with)”, and usually isn’t used with 足球 in the “play the sport” sense.

You might hear 玩足球 sometimes in casual speech, but 踢足球 is the standard and idiomatic way to say “play soccer”.

What exactly does 一会儿 mean in 踢一会儿足球? How is it different from 一下?

一会儿 (yíhuìr) means “for a short while / for a little bit (of time)”.

踢一会儿足球 = “play soccer for a while.”
- It emphasizes duration: a short period of time doing the action.

一下 (yíxià) is more like “once / a bit / briefly” and often softens the tone:

看一下 = “have a quick look”
想一下 = “think about it briefly”

You can say 踢一下足球, but that would suggest a very brief try or a casual “kick the ball a bit”, not really “play for a while” as an activity. For an actual short session of playing soccer, 一会儿 is the better choice.

Why is 一会儿 placed between 踢 and 足球, and not somewhere else, like 踢足球一会儿?

Both positions are possible, but they’re slightly different patterns:

踢一会儿足球 (very common):
- Verb + 一会儿
  - object
- Focus: doing this activity for a short while.
踢足球一会儿 is also grammatically OK and understandable, but 踢一会儿足球 sounds more natural to most speakers in everyday speech when you talk about doing an activity for a short time.

The pattern verb + 一会儿 + object is very common for short activities:

看一会儿书 = read for a while
聊一会儿天 = chat for a while
玩一会儿游戏 = play games for a while

How is 一会儿 (yíhuìr) pronounced, and what is the 儿 doing there?

Pronunciation:

一会儿 is usually pronounced yíhuìr:
- 一 → yí (second tone, due to tone sandhi before a fourth tone)
- 会 → huì (fourth tone)
- 儿 → r sound attached to 会, making it huìr

The 儿 is an erhua ending: adding an -r sound to certain syllables, common in northern Mandarin (especially Beijing).

Without erhua, you might see/hear:

一会 (yíhuì) without 儿 – common in some regions, and in writing it’s also acceptable.

一会 and 一会儿 here mean the same thing; the difference is mainly regional / stylistic pronunciation, not meaning.