Learn Hardcore Chinese: nàge niánqīng de huàjiā xǐhuan zài kāfēiguǎn lǐ huàhuà. - That young painter likes to draw in the café.

English almost always needs a subject pronoun (He/She likes…), but Chinese does not. Once you’ve identified “that young painter” as the topic, you don’t need 他/她 at all.

You could say:

那个年轻的画家，他喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。
This is more like “That young painter, he likes to paint in cafés.” It’s possible, but not necessary in the original sentence.

Why is it 那个 and not just 那 before 年轻的画家?

In modern spoken and written Mandarin, when you point to a specific countable noun, you normally use:

那 + 个 (measure word) + noun

So:

那个画家 = that painter
这个画家 = this painter

Just 那画家 is possible in some styles (e.g. headlines, literary, or dialectal speech), but the natural everyday form is 那个画家.

个 here is the measure word / classifier for people (and many other things). You almost always need a measure word between 这/那 and a noun:

✅ 那个年轻的画家
❌ 那年轻的画家 (colloquially possible in some regions, but not standard beginner Mandarin)

What exactly does 的 do in 年轻的画家? Why can’t we just say 年轻画家?

的 is a particle that links a modifier to a noun. Here, 年轻 (young) is an adjective modifying 画家 (painter), so we have:

年轻 + 的 + 画家 → “young painter”

General rule for beginners:

[adjective] + 的 + noun = “adjective + noun”

So:

高的楼 – tall building
漂亮的女孩 – pretty girl
中国的电影 – Chinese movie

You do see 年轻画家 (without 的) in titles, set phrases, or more formal/literary styles. However, for everyday, neutral Mandarin, 年轻的画家 is very natural and safe.

Why do we have both 那个 and 年轻的 before 画家? What’s the order of all these modifiers?

Chinese stacks modifiers before the noun, from more “outer” to more “inner”:

Demonstrative + measure word (这个 / 那个…)
Descriptive phrase with 的 (年轻的…, 法国的…, etc.)
The noun

So:

那个 (that)
年轻的 (young)
画家 (painter)

→ 那个年轻的画家 – “that young painter”

Word order:

那个年轻的画家 ✅
年轻的那个画家 ✅ but with a nuance: “that painter who is young (as opposed to other painters)”. This slightly changes the focus.

For a basic “that young painter”, 那个年轻的画家 is the most straightforward.

What is the difference between 画家, 画, and 画画?

They’re related but used differently:

画家 (huàjiā) – a painter / artist (person, often with some professional or serious level)
- e.g. 他是一个有名的画家。 – He is a famous painter.
画 (huà) – can be both noun (“picture, painting”) and verb (“to paint, to draw”)
- noun: 这幅画很漂亮。 – This painting is very beautiful.
- verb: 他喜欢画风景。 – He likes to paint landscapes.
画画 (huàhuà) – verb: “to paint / to draw” in a general, activity sense
- 画画 feels like “to do painting/drawing (as an activity)”.
- 喜欢画画 = “like painting/drawing (as a hobby or activity)”.

In the sentence, 画画 is the action the painter enjoys doing in the café.

Why is it 喜欢在咖啡馆里画画, and not 喜欢画画在咖啡馆里?

Chinese prefers the pattern:

Subject + 喜欢 + [place phrase] + [verb]

So we say:

他喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。
Literally: “He likes at cafés paint (to paint).”

Putting the place phrase 在咖啡馆里 before the action is the default, natural order.

喜欢画画在咖啡馆里 sounds strange or wrong because the location phrase usually does not come after the verb like that in this structure.

You can move the place phrase to the front as a topic:

在咖啡馆里，他喜欢画画。 – “In cafés, he likes to paint.”

But 喜欢在咖啡馆里画画 is the neutral, most common order.

What is the function of 在 and 里 in 在咖啡馆里? Could we just say 在咖啡馆?

在 is a preposition meaning “at / in / on”, introducing a location.
里 means “inside”.

So 在咖啡馆里 literally is “at inside the café”.

In most everyday contexts, 在咖啡馆 and 在咖啡馆里 are both acceptable:

在咖啡馆画画 – paint in the café
在咖啡馆里画画 – paint inside the café

Adding 里 can slightly emphasize the “inside” feeling, but often the difference is small, and both feel natural. Beginners can treat 在 + place (+ 里) as “at/in (a place)”.

How does 喜欢 work here? Is it “like doing” or “like to do”? Do we need 的 after the verb?

喜欢 means “to like”, and it can be followed directly by:

a noun: 喜欢咖啡 – like coffee
a verb/verb phrase: 喜欢画画 – like painting

In English we distinguish “like to paint” vs “like painting”. In Chinese, 喜欢画画 can cover both meanings. There’s no need for an extra 的:

❌ 喜欢画画的 (this would usually modify a noun, e.g. 喜欢画画的人 – people who like painting)
✅ 喜欢画画 – like painting

So 喜欢在咖啡馆里画画 = “likes painting in cafés” or “likes to paint in cafés.”

How do we know the tense here? Does 喜欢在咖啡馆里画画 mean “likes to paint”, “liked to paint”, or “will like to paint”?

Chinese verbs do not change form for tense. Time is usually understood from context or from extra words:

昨天 – yesterday → past
明天 – tomorrow → future
现在 – now → present

Your sentence with no time word:

那个年轻的画家喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。

is typically interpreted as a general, present-time fact, like English “That young painter likes to paint in cafés.”

If you want to specify time:

以前那个年轻的画家喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。 – In the past, that young painter used to like painting in cafés.
将来那个年轻的画家会喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。 – In the future, that young painter will like painting in cafés.

Is 个 the measure word for 画家? Could we use another measure word?

Yes, 个 is the default measure word for 画家:

一个画家 – a painter
那个画家 – that painter

However, when you want to be more polite or respectful for people, you often use 位:

那位画家 – that (respected) painter

So you could also say:

那位年轻的画家喜欢在咖啡馆里画画。

This sounds a bit more respectful or formal than 那个年轻的画家.