Learn Hardcore Chinese: nà jiān fángjiān bǐ zhè jiān jiàoshì ānjìng, zài lǐmiàn xuéxí gǎnjué gèng hǎo. - That room is quieter than this classroom; it feels better to study in there.

间 (jiān) is the standard measure word for rooms or enclosed spaces:
- 一间房间 – one room
- 这间教室 – this classroom
个 (gè) is the general measure word and is less specific.

Saying 那间房间 is more natural because 房间 is literally a room, and 间 is the usual measure word for rooms. 那个房间 is understandable and you do see it, but it sounds a bit less precise or a bit more casual; 那间房间 is what textbooks and careful speech prefer.

Why do we also say 这间教室 and not just 这个教室?

For 教室 (classroom), Chinese also prefers the room-type measure word 间:

一间教室 – one classroom
那间教室 – that classroom
这间教室 – this classroom

You can hear 这个教室 in spoken language, and it is not wrong, but 间 highlights that it is a room-like space. Many native speakers will switch between 个 and 间 in casual speech, but 这间教室 is more idiomatic and aligns with the pattern used for 房间.

How exactly does the 比 structure work in 那间房间比这间教室安静?

The pattern is:

A + 比 + B + Adjective

Meaning: “A is more Adjective than B.”

Here:

A = 那间房间 (that room)
比 = than
B = 这间教室 (this classroom)
Adjective = 安静 (quiet)

So 那间房间比这间教室安静 literally is: > That room compared to this classroom is quiet →
> That room is quieter than this classroom.

No extra word like “more” or “than” is needed; 比 covers the “than”, and the structure itself makes it comparative.

Why isn’t there a 是 in the sentence? Why not say 那间房间是比这间教室安静?

In Chinese comparative sentences with 比 do not use 是 before the adjective.

Correct pattern:

✅ 那间房间比这间教室安静。
✅ 这本书比那本书贵。

Incorrect:

❌ 那间房间是比这间教室安静。
❌ 这本书是比那本书贵。

是 is typically used for:

Noun = noun: 他是老师。– He is a teacher.
Noun = pronoun: 这是谁？– Who is this?

With A 比 B + adjective, you don’t insert 是.

Why is it just 安静 and not 很安静? Don’t Chinese adjectives usually need 很?

You’re thinking of the pattern:

这间教室很安静。– This classroom is quiet.

In simple descriptive sentences, an adjective usually needs something like 很, 非常, 真 etc. But in a 比-sentence, the comparison itself makes the adjective “complete”, so you don’t add 很:

✅ 那间房间比这间教室安静。
❌ 那间房间比这间教室很安静。 (sounds odd)

So:

With 比: A 比 B + adj (no 很)
Without 比: often 很 + adj (or another degree word) to make it sound natural.

Could I say 那间房间比这间教室更安静? What’s the difference if I add 更?

Yes, you can:

那间房间比这间教室安静。
那间房间比这间教室更安静。

Both mean “That room is quieter than this classroom.”

Nuance:

Without 更: normal, straightforward comparison.
With 更: often feels a bit stronger or more emphatic, like “even quieter” or “still quieter”.

Grammatically, both are correct. In everyday speech, both patterns are common.

What’s the difference between 里 and 里面 in 在里面学习? Could we just say 在里学习?

里 and 里面 both express “inside”, but:

里面 (lǐmian) is a little longer and often sounds more natural/complete in many positions.
里 (lǐ) alone is fine, especially when attached to a noun:
- 在房间里 – in the room
- 在教室里 – in the classroom

In your sentence, the location noun is not repeated, so we just have a general “inside”:

✅ 在里面学习 – study inside (there)
❌ 在里学习 – grammatically understandable, but sounds incomplete or unnatural on its own.

Think of 里面 here as a standalone “inside (there)”; 里 usually likes to be attached to something, like 房间里 / 教室里.

Is there any difference between 里, 里面, and 里边?

All three basically mean “inside”, but with slight usage preferences:

里 (lǐ) – shortest form; very common after a noun:
- 在家里，在房间里，在包里
里面 (lǐmiàn) – a bit fuller; works:
- after a noun: 在房间里面
- alone as “inside”: 在里面 – inside (there)
里边 (lǐbian) – similar to 里面; often slightly more spoken in some regions:
- 在教室里边，在衣柜里边

In this sentence, 在里面 is very natural because we’re talking about “inside that (mentioned) place” without repeating the noun.

Why is the word order 在里面学习感觉更好 and not 学习在里面感觉更好?

Chinese likes this pattern for actions with locations:

在 + Place + Verb

So:

在里面学习 – study inside
在教室里看书 – read in the classroom
在家工作 – work at home

Putting 在里面 after the verb (学习在里面) sounds wrong or foreign. The normal word order is:

Location phrase with 在
Main verb
(Then rest of the comment)

So:
在里面学习感觉更好。
在那间房间里看书感觉更好。

Shouldn’t it be 在里面学习的感觉更好? Why is there no 的 before 感觉?

Both are possible, with a small nuance:

在里面学习感觉更好。
- Literally: “(To) study inside feels better.”
- 感觉 here works like a verb: “feels”.
在里面学习的感觉更好。
- Literally: “The feeling of studying inside is better.”
- 在里面学习的感觉 is a noun phrase: “the feeling (that comes from) studying inside”.

So:

Without 的: treat 感觉 as “to feel”.
With 的: treat 感觉 as a noun: “feeling”.

In everyday speech, sentence 1 is very natural and a bit more direct.

Who is doing the “feeling” in 感觉更好? Shouldn’t there be 我 or 你?

The experiencer (the one who feels) is understood from context and is often left out in Chinese.

Logically, the full forms could be:

我在里面学习，感觉更好。– When I study inside, it feels better.
我在里面学习，我感觉更好。– I feel better when I study inside.

Chinese frequently drops the obvious subject:

看这个电影，觉得很无聊。– (I) find this movie boring.
吃多了，感觉不舒服。– (I) feel uncomfortable after eating too much.

So in 在里面学习感觉更好, it’s understood as: > When (I/we/you/people) study inside, it feels better.

What’s the difference between 觉得 and 感觉 here? Could I say …学习觉得更好?

They overlap but have different typical uses:

觉得 (juéde):
- Means “to think/feel (subjectively)”.
- Common pattern: Subject + 觉得 + Clause
- 我觉得在里面学习更好。– I think studying inside is better.
感觉 (gǎnjué):
- Can be a verb: “to feel, to sense”.
  - 在里面学习，感觉更好。– Studying inside, (it) feels better.
- Or a noun: “feeling”.
  - 在里面学习的感觉更好。– The feeling of studying inside is better.

Could you say 在里面学习觉得更好?

Grammatically possible, but it sounds like something is missing; normally you’d say:
- 在里面学习，我觉得更好。
- 在里面学习，会觉得更好。

In your original sentence, 感觉 is more natural than 觉得 because it works smoothly both as “to feel” and “feeling” without needing an explicit subject.

Why is 更 placed before 好 in 感觉更好? What does 更 add here?

更 (gèng) is an adverb meaning “even more, still more”.
The pattern is:

更 + Adjective

So:

更好 – better, even better
更安静 – quieter, even quieter
更方便 – more convenient

In 感觉更好:

感觉好 – feels good
感觉更好 – feels better (than something else)

Without 更, it would be:

在里面学习感觉好。– Studying inside feels good. (no comparison) With 更, it’s clearly linked to the previous comparison (that room vs this classroom), so it means:
Studying inside (that quieter room) feels better.

Could we change the word order to 在那间房间里面学习感觉更好? Is that still correct?

Yes, that’s correct and natural:

那间房间比这间教室安静，在那间房间里面学习感觉更好。

Here we make the location explicit:

在那间房间里面学习 – study inside that room

Both:

在里面学习感觉更好。
在那间房间里面学习感觉更好。

are grammatically fine. The second just repeats 那间房间 to be clearer or more explicit, while the original uses 里面 referring back to that room that was just mentioned.