Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhè gè bówùguǎn bù dà, dànshì lǐbian de zhǎnlǎn hěn yǒuyìsi, cānguān wán yǐhòu dàjiā dōu hěn gāoxìng. - This museum isn’t big, but the exhibits inside are very interesting, and everyone is very happy after the visit.

这(个)博物馆不大
→ “This museum is not big” / “This museum is on the small side.”
这(个)博物馆很小
→ “This museum is very small” (sounds more direct, even a bit negative depending on tone).

So 不大 often downplays the size: it’s smallish, just not big. In this context, the speaker wants to say the museum isn’t large, but without criticizing it.

Why is there a 个 (gè) after 这 (zhè)? Could we just say 这博物馆?

个 is a measure word (classifier). In Chinese you normally can’t go directly from “this” to a noun; you need:

这 + measure word + noun

So:

这
- 个
  - 博物馆
    = “this museum”

You could drop 个 in very casual spoken Chinese (这博物馆), but the standard, correct form is 这个博物馆.

Also, for buildings, you might see 座 (zuò) instead of 个:

这座博物馆 – a bit more formal/“correct” for buildings.
这个博物馆 – totally natural, very common in everyday speech.

What is the difference between 但是 (dànshì) and 可是 (kěshì)? Could we use 可是 here instead?

Both 但是 and 可是 mean “but / however”, and in this sentence you could safely replace 但是 with 可是:

… 不大，但是里边的展览很有意思。
… 不大，可是里边的展览很有意思。

Main tendencies:

但是: slightly more formal, a bit more neutral; common in both writing and speech.
可是: slightly more colloquial/emotional; very common in spoken Chinese.

Functionally they’re near-synonyms here, so changing it won’t change the meaning in any important way.

What’s the difference between 里边 (lǐbian), 里面 (lǐmiàn), and just 里 (lǐ)? Why use 里边的展览?

All three basically mean “inside”, but there are small style differences:

里边 and 里面:
- Both are very common and mostly interchangeable in everyday speech.
- 边 and 面 add a sort of “location-ness” (like “the inside part”).
里 by itself:
- Slightly shorter and more neutral.
- Frequently used in writing or when the context is clear.

In this sentence:

里边的展览 = “the exhibitions inside (it).”

You could also say:

里面的展览 – also fine.
里边的展览 – a very natural spoken choice.

All mean the exhibitions that are inside the museum.

Why is there a 的 (de) after 里边: 里边的展览? What does this 的 do?

Here 的 is the standard attributive marker. It turns what comes before it into a modifier for the noun that follows.

Structure:

里边 (inside) + 的
- 展览 (exhibitions)
  → “the exhibitions (that are) inside”

So:

里边的展览 = “the exhibitions inside (the museum)”
有意思的展览 = “the interesting exhibitions”
中国的展览 = “the Chinese exhibitions”

In each case, 的 links the description (里边 / 有意思 / 中国) to the noun (展览).

Does 有意思 (yǒuyìsi) mean “interesting” or “meaningful”? How is it used here?

有意思 can mean both, depending on context:

Interesting / fun / engaging
- Very common everyday use.
- That’s the meaning here: “the exhibitions are interesting.”
Meaningful / significant
- More context-dependent, e.g. 这件事很有意思 can be “this matter is meaningful / thought-provoking”.

In casual speech, if you say 很有意思, people usually understand it as “really interesting / fun” unless context clearly suggests deeper meaning.

Why is 很 (hěn) used before 有意思 and before 高兴? Does it always mean “very”?

In modern Chinese, 很 has two roles:

True adverb of degree = “very”
- 这很有意思。 → “This is very interesting.”
- 我今天很高兴。 → “I’m very happy today.”
“Linker” before adjectives, where it doesn’t necessarily mean “very” strongly.
- In simple descriptive sentences (Subject + 很 + Adjective), you usually need something like 很 to make the sentence feel complete and natural.
- Without it, the sentence can sound like a stark contrast or a definition.

Compare:

展览很有意思。
→ Natural; usually understood as “(quite) interesting.”
展览有意思。
→ Grammatically okay, but can sound like you’re contrasting it with something else (e.g. “The exhibition is interesting (unlike what you might think).”).

In this sentence:

很有意思 and 很高兴 are natural Subject + 很 + Adjective patterns.
They can mean “very”, but often it’s just a soft, normal description like “pretty interesting / quite happy.”

What does 参观完以后 literally mean? Why do we need 完 and 以后 together?

Breakdown:

参观 – to visit (a museum, exhibition, factory, etc.)
完 – result complement meaning “finish / complete”
以后 – “after”

So:

参观完 = “(to) finish visiting”
参观完以后 = “after (we) finished visiting”

Why both?

完 emphasizes that the action is completed.
以后 marks the time relationship: what happens after that completed action.

You could say:

参观以后，大家都很高兴。
→ “After the visit, everyone was happy.” (Completion is implied by context, but not highlighted.)
参观完以后，大家都很高兴。
→ “After they had finished visiting, everyone was happy.” (Explicitly stresses that the visit was fully completed.)

Is 参观 (cānguān) just “visit”? How is it different from words like 去, 看, or 访问?

参观 specifically means “visit (a place, exhibition, facility) in order to look around and learn/see things.” It’s often used for:

Museums, exhibitions, galleries
Factories, schools, companies, scenic spots (in a “touring/inspecting” sense)

Differences:

去 – just “go (to)”, very general.
- 去博物馆 – go to the museum (no implication of touring).
看 – “look / see / watch”; can be used more casually.
- 去看博物馆 – less standard; sounds like “go see the museum.”
访问 – “visit” in the sense of paying a visit, making an official visit (often to people or institutions), e.g. political or formal.
- 访问中国 – pay a visit to China (e.g. a delegation).

For a museum or exhibition, 参观博物馆 / 参观展览 is the most natural choice.

Why use 大家都很高兴 instead of just 大家很高兴? What does 都 (dōu) add?

都 means “all / both” and it emphasizes that what follows applies to every member of the group.

大家很高兴。
→ “Everyone was happy.” (Basic statement; implies overall feeling.)
大家都很高兴。
→ “Everyone was happy; all of them were happy.” (Slight extra emphasis that it’s true for every person.)

So 都 strengthens the idea that each person was happy, not just “in general, people were happy.” It’s very natural to add 都 with 大家 in this kind of sentence.

Why is 不 (bù) used to negate 大 (不大), instead of 没 (méi)? Can we say 没大?

For adjectives, you normally negate them with 不, not 没.

不 + adjective:
- 不大 – not big
- 不高兴 – not happy
- 不贵 – not expensive

没 is mainly used to negate:

past/completed actions: 没去, 没看, 没做
possession: 没有

So:

这(个)博物馆不大。 – correct, natural.
这(个)博物馆没大。 – incorrect.

If you’re describing a state/quality (big, small, happy, tired…), use 不.

Why is the order 参观完以后大家都很高兴 and not something like 大家都很高兴以后参观完?

Chinese time expressions usually come before the main clause, in “from big to small” order (time → subject → comment):

参观完以后，大家都很高兴。
- 参观完以后 – time phrase: after finishing the visit
- 大家 – subject: everyone
- 都很高兴 – comment: all were happy

Putting 以后 at the end, like 大家都很高兴以后参观完, is ungrammatical and reverses the time logic.

General pattern: > [When / After / Before…] + [Subject] + [Predicate]

So the original order is the normal, expected one in Chinese.

Could we say 这个博物馆里边的展览很有意思 instead of splitting it into two parts with a comma?

Yes, that is correct and natural:

这个博物馆里边的展览很有意思。
→ “The exhibitions inside this museum are very interesting.”

The original has:

这个博物馆不大，但是里边的展览很有意思。

The original sentence:

First comments on the size of the museum.
Then, after 但是, comments on the quality of the exhibitions inside.

Your version:

Directly describes the exhibitions inside this museum in one noun phrase (这个博物馆里边的展览) without contrasting size and content.

Both are fine; they just organize the information differently.