Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā hěn ài chī tián de dōngxi, bǐrú dàngāo hé qiǎokèlì. - She really loves eating sweet things, such as cake and chocolate.

Literal meaning: It can mean “very”, so:
- 她很爱吃甜的东西 = She really loves eating sweet things.
Grammatical softener: In many sentences with adjectives or stative verbs (like 爱 to love), Chinese often adds 很 even when English wouldn’t say “very.”
- Without 很:
  - 她爱吃甜的东西 can sound a bit strong / absolute, like “She LOVES (and that’s a big deal) eating sweet things.”
- With 很:
  - 她很爱吃甜的东西 feels more natural and neutral in everyday speech.

So:

You can translate it as “really” or sometimes just not translate it.
Grammatically, you don’t have to use 很 here, but native speakers very often do, because it sounds smoother and more natural.

What’s the difference between 爱吃 and 喜欢吃?

Both involve liking something, but there’s a nuance:

爱吃 = literally “love to eat”
- Stronger feeling
- Often used for habitual preferences:
  - 他爱吃辣的。= He loves to eat spicy food. (He often eats it; it’s his thing.)
喜欢吃 = “like to eat”
- Neutral, milder
- Just says you like the taste; not as intense

In this sentence:

她很爱吃甜的东西 suggests:
- She really loves sweets
- She is probably someone who eats sweet things a lot.

If you say:

她喜欢吃甜的东西
It’s more like: She likes sweet things (but not necessarily obsessed with them).

Why do we say 吃甜的东西 instead of just 吃甜东西?

Both are possible, but:

甜的东西 is the normal, natural way to say it:
- 甜的 = “sweet (ones/things)”
- 东西 = things
  Together: “sweet things” or “sweet stuff”
甜东西 (without 的) is less common and can sound either:
- slightly more colloquial, or
- a little odd / bookish, depending on context.

In everyday speech:

adjective + 的 + noun is the standard pattern:
- 甜的东西 = sweet things
- 贵的衣服 = expensive clothes
- 好看的电影 = good-looking / nice movies

Think of 的 as linking the describing word (甜) to the thing (东西).
So 甜的东西 is what you should usually say.

What does 东西 (dōngxi) actually mean, and can we leave it out?

Literally:

东 = east
西 = west
But together 东西 just means “thing(s)”, “stuff” (general, physical objects).

In 甜的东西:

东西 = “things”
甜的东西 = “sweet things,” “sweet stuff,” “sweet foods” (context tells us it’s about food because of 吃)

Can we omit it?

If you say 吃甜的, that is also common and means:
- “eat sweet things” / “eat sweets”
- Here 的 is acting like “ones”:
  - 甜的 (ones) = sweet (things)

So:

吃甜的东西 = eat sweet things (more explicit)
吃甜的 = eat sweet things (a bit shorter, still natural)

Both are fine in conversation.

What is the role of 的 (de) after 甜 (tián)?

的 here turns 甜 (sweet) into something that modifies a noun or stands for a noun phrase:

As a modifier marker:
- 甜 + 的 + 东西
- adjective + 的 + noun
- = “sweet things”
As a “nominalizer” (turning description into “ones/things”):
- If you drop 东西 and just say:
  - 甜的
  - It means “sweet ones / sweet things.”

So here 的 links the describing word 甜 to the “things” being talked about (东西), or stands in for “ones.” It’s very similar to saying “the sweet ones” in English.

How does 比如 (bǐrú) work in this sentence? Is it like “for example”?

Yes, 比如 means “for example” or “such as.”

In the sentence:

她很爱吃甜的东西，比如蛋糕和巧克力。
“She really likes to eat sweet things, for example cake and chocolate.”

Usage:

比如 + example 1 + 和 / 或者 + example 2
- 比如蛋糕和巧克力 = for example, cake and chocolate
You can also use:
- 比如说… = for example (more spoken)
- 像…这样的… = things like …

Position:

It usually comes before the examples it introduces, just like “for example” in English.

Why is 和 (hé) used here, and does it always mean “and”?

In 蛋糕和巧克力:

和 (hé) connects two nouns:
- 蛋糕和巧克力 = cake and chocolate

Basic usage:

A 和 B = A and B
- 我和你 = you and I
- 苹果和香蕉 = apples and bananas

Notes:

和 is mainly for nouns/pronouns.
To connect verbs or clauses, Chinese often uses different structures (like 又…又…, 还, 或者, etc.).
In spoken Chinese, people sometimes also use 跟 (gēn) for “and/with”:
- 蛋糕跟巧克力 (more colloquial).

Here, 和 is the standard, clear “and” between two food items.

Why don’t we need 是 (shì) (the verb “to be”) in this sentence?

Chinese doesn’t use 是 the same way English uses “to be.”

In 她很爱吃甜的东西:

The core is: 她爱吃甜的东西 = She loves to eat sweet things.
爱吃 is a verb phrase: “love-to-eat”
- 爱 = love
- 吃 = eat
There is no “be” needed:
- We don’t say 她是很爱吃甜的东西.

General rule:

是 is used mainly to link two nouns / noun phrases:
- 她是老师。= She is a teacher.
- 这是蛋糕。= This is cake.
But with verbs or adjectives, we usually don’t use 是:
- 他很高。= He is tall. (No 是)
- 我喜欢你。= I like you. (No 是)

So the sentence is correct without 是.

Where does 很 go in the word order, and could we move it somewhere else?

Standard word order in Mandarin:

Subject + (adverb) + verb + object

In this sentence:

Subject: 她
Adverb: 很
Verb phrase: 爱吃
Object: 甜的东西

So:

她很爱吃甜的东西。

You cannot move 很 to other places like English:

❌ 她爱吃很甜的东西 = different meaning
- This actually means: “She loves to eat very sweet things.”
- Here 很 is modifying 甜 (sweet), not 爱 (love).

So:

她很爱吃甜的东西 = She really loves to eat sweet things.
她爱吃很甜的东西 = She loves to eat things that are very sweet.

Both are grammatical, but they mean different things. Position matters.

Why is the pronoun 她 (tā) used instead of 他 (tā), and are they pronounced differently?

她 = “she / her” (female; written with the “woman” radical 女)
他 = “he / him” (male; written with the “person” radical 亻)

Pronunciation:

Both are pronounced exactly the same: tā (first tone).

In spoken Mandarin:

You can’t hear the difference.
Context usually tells you whether the person is male or female.

In writing:

You choose:
- 她 for a female
- 他 for a male

In this sentence, the writer wants to make clear that the person is female, so they use 她.

How does 爱吃 function grammatically? Is it one word or two?

爱吃 is a verb-object compound, very common in Chinese:

爱 = to love
吃 = to eat

Together:

爱吃 = “to love eating,” “to love to eat”

Grammatically:

It behaves like a single verb phrase:
- 她很爱吃甜的东西。= She really loves to eat sweet things.
You can replace the kind of food:
- 爱吃辣的 = love to eat spicy things
- 爱吃肉 = love to eat meat

So you can think of 爱吃 as a compound verb meaning “love to eat,” even though it is written as two characters.

Does this sentence describe a habit or something happening right now?

In Chinese, if there is no time word and no aspect marker (like 了, 过, 在), a sentence like this usually describes a general habit or tendency.

她很爱吃甜的东西。
- Means: She in general really loves sweets / sweet things.
- It’s about her character or usual behavior, not just this moment.

To talk about right now, you’d usually add context:

现在她很想吃甜的东西。= Right now she really wants to eat something sweet.
今天她特别想吃甜的东西。= Today she especially wants to eat something sweet.

As given, it is best understood as a general preference.