Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ duì míngnián de zhōngwén kǎoshì hěn yǒuxìnxīn. - I am very confident about next year’s Chinese exam.

Note that the natural order is 明年的中文考试, not 中文明年的考试 or 明年中文的考试. You put the time word (明年) before 的, and what it modifies (中文考试) after 的.

Why is 的 (de) used after 明年, but not after 中文?

In 明年的中文考试:

明年 + 的 + 中文考试

Here, 明年的 works as an adjective phrase describing 中文考试 (“the Chinese exam of next year”).

中文考试 itself is a common noun-noun combination where 中文 directly modifies 考试 (“Chinese exam”). Chinese often omits 的 in tight noun-modifier pairs that form a fixed idea:

中文课 – Chinese class
英语老师 – English teacher
数学作业 – math homework

If you said 中文的考试, it’s not impossible, but it sounds more like “an exam that is about Chinese” in a more general or contrastive way, and it’s less natural in this context than the set phrase 中文考试.

Does 很 (hěn) here really mean “very”? Can I leave it out?

In 我对明年的中文考试很有信心, 很 can mean “very”, but in many sentences like this it also functions as a linking adverb to make the sentence sound natural.

我有信心。 – grammatically OK, but can sound a bit bare or factual.
我很有信心。 – more natural, like “I’m (really / quite) confident.”

Whether it’s strongly “very” depends on context and intonation:

Neutral speech: 很 may just soften the statement, equivalent to “am confident”.
Emphatic speech: 很 can really mean “very”.

You can leave it out:

我对明年的中文考试有信心。

This is still correct and feels a bit more straightforward or factual; 很有信心 feels more like natural spoken Chinese.

Why do we say 有信心 instead of something like 是信心 or just 信心?

信心 is a noun meaning “confidence”.

Chinese usually says 有 + noun to mean “to have [that quality]”:

有信心 – have confidence
有兴趣 – have interest / be interested
有耐心 – have patience / be patient

So 我很有信心 literally is “I very-have confidence” → “I’m very confident.”

Using 是信心 would be wrong here, because 是 links a subject to a noun in an identity way (“X is Y”), but you’re not saying “I am confidence”; you’re saying you have confidence.

What’s the difference between 信心 (xìnxīn) and 自信 (zìxìn)?

Both relate to confidence, but they’re used slightly differently:

信心 – confidence (a general noun about belief / trust)
- 对考试有信心 – have confidence about the exam
- 充满信心 – be full of confidence
自信 – self-confidence; can be an adjective or noun
- 他很自信。 – He is very self-confident.
- 缺乏自信。 – Lack self-confidence.

In this sentence:

我对明年的中文考试很有信心。 – I’m confident about the exam. (Focus: attitude toward the exam)
我对自己很有自信。 – I have a lot of confidence in myself. (Focus: attitude toward myself)

You could also say:

我对明年的中文考试很有把握。 – I’m very sure I’ll do well in next year’s exam.

but 有信心 is more neutral and common.

Why is there no verb like “am” in this sentence, compared to English “I am confident”?

Chinese doesn’t need a separate “be” verb in this structure. Instead, it uses 有 (have) with a noun:

English: I am confident.
Chinese: 我（很）有信心。 → I (very) have confidence.

So the pattern is:

Subject + 有 + noun (quality)

For example:

我有时间。 – I have time.
他有耐心。 – He is patient. (literally: has patience)

You don’t say 我是有信心 to mean “I am confident”; that sounds like you’re making a contrast (“I am the one who is confident”), not the basic description.

Can I move 明年 to another place, like 我明年对中文考试很有信心?

Yes, 明年 can move, but you must keep the structure natural.

Original:

我对明年的中文考试很有信心。

Common alternatives:

明年我对中文考试很有信心。
– “Next year, I’m confident about the Chinese exam.”
(Puts more emphasis on “next year.”)
我明年对中文考试很有信心。
– Also understandable and used; here 明年 modifies 对中文考试, meaning “Next year, as for the Chinese exam, I’m confident.”

But you should not break up 明年的中文考试 in an unnatural way, like:

✗ 我对中文明年的考试很有信心。 (awkward / wrong order)
✗ 我对中文考试明年很有信心。 (unnatural; splits target and time oddly)

The cleanest version is still:

我对明年的中文考试很有信心。

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a yes–no question?

Base sentence:

我对明年的中文考试很有信心。

Negative:

我对明年的中文考试没有信心。
– I don’t have confidence about next year’s Chinese exam.

You can add 很 if you want a softer, less absolute feeling:

我对明年的中文考试不太有信心。
– I’m not very confident about next year’s Chinese exam.

Yes–no question (ma-question):

你对明年的中文考试很有信心吗？
– Are you confident about next year’s Chinese exam?

A-not-A pattern (colloquial):

你对明年的中文考试有没有信心？
– Do you have confidence about next year’s Chinese exam or not?

Why is there no measure word with 考试 (kǎoshì)? Shouldn’t it be 一次考试?

考试 can mean:

The event / countable exam:
- 一次考试 – one exam
- 这次考试 – this exam
The exam in general / the concept or subject:
- as in 中文考试, “the Chinese exam (as an event)” in context.

In 明年的中文考试, the context already makes it specific:

“the Chinese exam (that will happen) next year”

So you don’t strictly need 一场 / 一次. However, you can say:

我对明年的那场中文考试很有信心。
– I’m very confident about that Chinese exam next year.

Here, 那场 (that [exam session]) adds extra specificity, but isn’t required for a natural sentence.