Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhōumò tā bù xǐhuan chuān qúnzi, gèng xǐhuan chuān shūfu de kùzi hé yùndòngxié. - On weekends she doesn’t like wearing skirts; she prefers comfortable pants and sneakers.

You can say 她周末不喜欢穿裙子, and it’s grammatically fine.
Putting 周末 first just follows the common pattern [time] + [subject] + [other elements], and slightly emphasizes the time frame (“As for weekends, she…”), which feels very natural in Chinese.

Why is 不喜欢 used here and not 没(有)喜欢?

不 is used for:

habitual actions
general facts
things that are not the case in general

没(有) is used to negate:

past actions / completed events
existence or possession

Here we’re talking about her general preference on weekends, not about some specific past event, so 不喜欢 is correct.

她不喜欢穿裙子。 – She doesn’t like wearing skirts (in general).
她没(有)穿裙子。 – She didn’t wear a skirt / isn’t wearing a skirt (a specific time).

What exactly does 更 mean here, and is it necessary?

更 means “even more” / “rather” / “instead” here. It marks a preference or a stronger degree compared with what came before:

不喜欢穿裙子，更喜欢穿裤子。
She doesn’t like wearing skirts; she prefers wearing pants.

If you remove 更:

周末她不喜欢穿裙子，喜欢穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋。

This is still correct; it just loses the explicit “more/especially” feeling. With 更, the contrast is stronger: “not that, but even more this.”

Why is 喜欢 repeated? Can I say 她不喜欢穿裙子，更穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋?

You need to repeat 喜欢. In this structure, 更 modifies 喜欢, not 穿 alone:

Pattern: A 不喜欢…, 更喜欢…
→ “(She) doesn’t like A, (she) likes B more.”

更穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋 is ungrammatical because 更 needs an adjective/verb like 喜欢, 高, 好 after it:

✅ 更喜欢…, 更高, 更好
❌ 更穿… (doesn’t work here)

Why do we only say 穿 once before 舒服的裤子和运动鞋? Do we need to repeat 穿?

One 穿 can cover both objects:

更喜欢穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋。
= “(She) prefers to wear comfortable pants and sneakers.”

In Chinese, when the same verb applies to multiple objects, we usually say the verb once:

买苹果和香蕉 – buy apples and bananas
喝茶和咖啡 – drink tea and coffee

You could say 穿舒服的裤子和穿运动鞋, but that sounds heavier and is usually unnecessary unless you want to emphasize the two actions separately.

Can 穿 be used for both clothes and shoes?

Yes. 穿 is used for:

clothes (衣服, 裙子, 裤子, 外套, etc.)
shoes and socks (鞋, 鞋子, 袜子)

So 穿裙子, 穿裤子, 穿鞋, 穿运动鞋 are all natural.

Why is there a 的 in 舒服的裤子? Could we just say 舒服裤子?

When an adjective modifies a noun, you normally use 的:

舒服的裤子 – comfortable pants
漂亮的裙子 – pretty skirt

You cannot say 舒服裤子; that sounds wrong.
Compare:

As a predicate (no noun after it):
- 这条裤子很舒服。 – These pants are comfortable.
As an attributive (before a noun):
- 舒服的裤子 – comfortable pants

So 的 is needed because 舒服 is describing the noun 裤子.

Why aren’t there measure words like 条裙子 or 条裤子?

Measure words are needed when you talk about a specific quantity:

一条裙子 – one skirt
两条裤子 – two pairs of pants

Here we are talking about the type of clothing in general, not specific items or numbers. In such generic/habitual statements, bare nouns are fine:

她不喜欢穿裙子。 – She doesn’t like wearing skirts (as a kind of clothing).
他喜欢喝咖啡。 – He likes drinking coffee (not “one cup of coffee”).

So no measure words are needed.

What is the difference between 和 and 跟 here? Could we say 裤子跟运动鞋?

In this sentence, 和 means “and” and is coordinating two nouns: 裤子 and 运动鞋.

裤子和运动鞋 – pants and sneakers
裤子跟运动鞋 – also fine in everyday speech

和 and 跟 are often interchangeable when meaning “and” in a list. 和 feels a bit more neutral/formal; 跟 can feel slightly more colloquial. Both work here.

Could we say 在周末 instead of just 周末?

You can say:

在周末，她不喜欢穿裙子…

This is grammatically correct, but in habitual statements, Chinese often drops 在 before common time words:

周末我常常出去。
晚上他学习。

在周末 can sound a bit more specific or situational, like talking about a particular setting. 周末 alone is more natural and concise for a general weekly habit.

How does Chinese show that this means “on weekends (in general)” and not “on a specific weekend”, since there’s no plural or tense?

Chinese doesn’t mark plural or tense the way English does. Instead, context and adverbs/time words show aspect and frequency.

Here:

周末 with no other time limitation
a verb like 喜欢 (a stative verb about preference)

→ together suggest a regular habit on weekends in general.

If it were about a specific weekend, you’d likely see something like 上个周末, 这个周末, or past-time context in surrounding sentences.

Could we drop 她 and just say 周末不喜欢穿裙子，更喜欢穿…?

Yes, if the subject is already clear from context, Chinese often drops it:

周末不喜欢穿裙子，更喜欢穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋。

This would usually be understood as “(She) doesn’t like…” if the person is known from earlier in the conversation. Chinese frequently omits pronouns when they’re obvious.

Is the comma ， functioning like “but” or “instead” in English?

The comma here separates two closely related clauses:

周末她不喜欢穿裙子，
更喜欢穿舒服的裤子和运动鞋。

There is no explicit “but” word, but the combination of:

the negative 不喜欢, and
the contrastive 更喜欢

creates a “not A, (but) rather B” meaning. So the comma plus 更 together play a similar role to “but rather” or “instead” in English.

Is there any difference between saying 更喜欢穿舒服的裤子 and 喜欢穿更舒服的裤子?

Yes, the focus shifts:

更喜欢穿舒服的裤子
- Compares types of clothing:
  “She prefers wearing comfortable pants (over skirts).”
喜欢穿更舒服的裤子
- Compares degree of comfort among pants:
  “She likes to wear pants that are more comfortable (than some other pants).”

In the original sentence, the comparison is between skirts and comfortable pants + sneakers, so 更喜欢穿舒服的裤子 is the appropriate structure.

What’s the difference between 舒服 and 舒适? Would 舒适的裤子 also work?

Both mean “comfortable,” but:

舒服 – more colloquial, very common in daily speech.
舒适 – slightly more formal/literary; often in written language, ads, descriptions.

In this casual, spoken-feeling sentence, 舒服的裤子 is the most natural choice.
舒适的裤子 is grammatically correct but sounds a bit more formal or like ad copy.

Why is 喜欢 pronounced xǐhuan, and what’s the tone of 欢 here?

In standard modern Mandarin, 喜欢 is pronounced xǐhuan:

喜 – 3rd tone (xǐ)
欢 – neutral tone (light, unstressed), not huān

So you don’t say xǐhuān with two full tones in normal speech. Many common disyllabic words have a neutral tone on the second syllable, and 喜欢 is one of them.