Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā bù xǐhuan zài hěn chǎo de dìfang jiànshēn, juéde gōngyuán bǐ tǐyùguǎn ānjìng. - She doesn’t like working out in very noisy places and feels the park is quieter than the gym.

Putting 在很吵的地方 after 健身 (like 她不喜欢健身在很吵的地方) sounds unnatural or wrong in standard Mandarin. Post‑verbal 在 + place is rare and only works in special structures, not here.

So you should keep 在很吵的地方 before 健身.

Why do we need 在 here? Could I just say 她不喜欢很吵的地方健身?

Here 在 marks location: it tells you where the action 健身 (to work out) takes place.

在很吵的地方健身 = to work out in very noisy places.

If you drop 在 and say 她不喜欢很吵的地方健身, it sounds wrong because 很吵的地方 then looks like the object of 喜欢, not a place phrase for 健身. It would be like saying in English: “She doesn’t like noisy places work out.”

So you need 在 to clearly show “in/at (a place)”.

Does 很 in 很吵的地方 really mean very, or is it just grammatical?

In 很吵的地方, 很 has its usual meaning of quite / very. It emphasizes the level of noise:

吵的地方 – noisy places (neutral)
很吵的地方 – very noisy places / places that are quite noisy

Unlike the pattern 很吵 as a predicate (e.g., 这个地方很吵, which often needs 很 for grammatical reasons), in an attributive phrase like 吵的地方, you can actually omit 很 and it’s still fine. Adding 很 here is more about degree and style, not just grammar.

So yes, here it really does add the idea of “very / quite.”

What is the function of 的 in 很吵的地方?

Here 的 links a descriptive phrase to a noun:

很吵 = very noisy (adjective phrase)
地方 = place
很吵的地方 = places that are very noisy / noisy places

This is the typical pattern:

[adjective / describing phrase] + 的 + [noun]

Without 的, 很吵地方 is ungrammatical. You need 的 to turn 很吵 into an attributive that modifies 地方.

What is 健身 exactly? Is it a verb or a noun here? How is it different from 运动?

In this sentence, 健身 (jiànshēn) is used as a verb, meaning to work out / to do fitness training / to keep fit.

在很吵的地方健身 – to work out in very noisy places.

Some contrasts:

健身 – usually refers to working out, fitness exercise (often in a gym or with equipment, but not necessarily).
运动 (yùndòng) – broader: sports or exercise in general (playing basketball, running, etc.).

You could say:

她不喜欢在很吵的地方运动 – She doesn’t like doing exercise in very noisy places.

That’s correct, but 健身 focuses more specifically on fitness‑type workouts, which fits very well with 体育馆 (sports hall / gym) in the sentence.

Why is it 不喜欢 instead of something with 没 like 没喜欢?

不 and 没 negate different things:

不 – negates habitual, general, or future actions and states; also preferences and likes/dislikes.
没 – mainly negates past / completed / existence / possession (linked to 有 and completed actions).

Liking or not liking something is a general preference, so you use 不:

她不喜欢… – She doesn’t like…

没喜欢 is almost never used this way. You might see 没很喜欢 in very specific contexts, but it’s uncommon and still different in nuance (“didn’t particularly like” in a past situation). For a stable preference, always use 不喜欢.

Why does the second part start with 觉得 instead of 她觉得? Where did the subject go?

The subject 她 (she) is understood from context and often dropped in Chinese when it’s the same as in the previous clause.

Full version: 她不喜欢在很吵的地方健身，(她)觉得公园比体育馆安静。
Natural spoken/written Chinese: 她不喜欢在很吵的地方健身，觉得公园比体育馆安静。

This kind of subject omission is very common and sounds natural when the subject doesn’t change and is clear from the previous part of the sentence.

How does the comparison 公园比体育馆安静 work? Why is there no 是?

The basic comparative pattern in Chinese is:

A + 比 + B + [adjective]

So here:

公园 – parks
比 – than
体育馆 – gyms / sports halls
安静 – quiet

Together: 公园比体育馆安静 = “Parks are quieter than gyms.”

You do not add 是 in this pattern. Saying 公园比体育馆是安静 is ungrammatical. The 比 structure by itself expresses “A is more [adj] than B.”

Could we say 公园比体育馆更安静? What is the difference between 比…安静 and 比…更安静?

Yes, 公园比体育馆更安静 is also correct.

公园比体育馆安静 – Parks are quieter than gyms.
公园比体育馆更安静 – Parks are even / still / even more quiet than gyms.

更 adds an extra sense of “even more,” slightly highlighting the degree of difference. In many contexts they are close in meaning, and everyday speech often just uses 比…+ adjective without 更.

Why is there no 很 in 公园比体育馆安静? Could we say 公园比体育馆很安静?

In A 比 B + adjective, you normally do not use 很:

公园比体育馆安静 – correct
公园比体育馆很安静 – sounds wrong/awkward in standard Mandarin.

The pattern 比 + 很 + adjective is generally avoided because 比 already encodes the comparative meaning; 很 would interfere and make the structure feel off. If you want to emphasize, use 更:

公园比体育馆更安静 – Parks are even quieter than gyms.

What is the difference between the 的 in 吵的地方 and the 得 in 觉得? They both sound like de.

They sound the same (de) but are different characters and roles:

的 in 吵的地方 is a structural particle linking a description to a noun:
- 吵的地方 = noisy place(s).
得 in 觉得 is part of the verb 觉得 (juéde) = to think / to feel (about a situation).
In modern Chinese, 觉得 is treated as one word; the second character is not acting as the grammatical particle 得 here.

So:

吵的地方: 的 = grammar marker (adjectival linker).
觉得: 得 = just part of the verb’s spelling.

Does 不 change tone here in 不喜欢? Is it bù or bú?

The tone of 不 changes only before another 4th‑tone syllable:

Before 4th tone: bú (2nd tone)
- bú对 (bú duì)
- bú是 (bú shì)

Before other tones (1st, 2nd, 3rd, neutral), 不 stays bù (4th tone).

In 不喜欢:

喜 (xǐ) is 3rd tone.
So 不 remains bù:
bù xǐhuan – not bú xǐhuan.

So the correct pronunciation is bù xǐhuan.

Why is there a comma between 健身 and 觉得 instead of a word like 而且, 所以, or 和?

Chinese often links related clauses with just a comma, without an overt conjunction. The relationship is understood from context.

她不喜欢在很吵的地方健身，觉得公园比体育馆安静。

You could think of it as:

“She doesn’t like working out in noisy places, and (she) thinks parks are quieter than gyms.”

You could add conjunctions for extra clarity or nuance:

她不喜欢在很吵的地方健身，所以觉得公园比体育馆好。 (so…)
她不喜欢在很吵的地方健身，而且觉得公园比体育馆安静。 (and also…)

But in the original sentence, the simple comma is natural and typical of Chinese style.

Why is 地方 used here? Could we just say 在很吵的健身 or 在很吵的那儿健身?

地方 (dìfang) literally means place / area and is a very common, general word for “place.”

很吵的地方 – places that are very noisy.

You can’t say 在很吵的健身; 健身 is an action, not a place.
You could say 在很吵的那儿健身 (“work out in that noisy place there”), but that changes the meaning to a specific there.

Using 地方 keeps the meaning general: noisy places (in general), not one specific spot. It’s the most natural choice for this sentence.