Learn Hardcore Chinese: měicì gēn jiārén fēnkāi de shíhou, wǒ yě huì yǒudiǎnr nánguò, dànshì hěn kuài jiù xíguàn le. - Every time I part from my family, I also feel a bit sad, but I quickly get used to it.

跟 is often used in spoken Chinese to mean “with” or “together with”:
- 跟朋友一起吃饭 = eat with friends
和 can often replace 跟 with no change in meaning:
- 每次和家人分开的时候… (also correct)

In this sentence, 跟 and 和 are interchangeable; 跟 just sounds slightly more colloquial in many regions.

Why do we need both 每次 and …的时候? Isn’t one of them redundant?

They work together but are not redundant:

每次 = every time
…的时候 = when … / at the time when …

So 每次跟家人分开的时候 literally means:
“Every time (that) when I separate from my family”.

You could say:

每次跟家人分开，我也会有点儿难过。 ✅ (drop 的时候; still natural)
跟家人分开的时候，我会有点儿难过。 ✅ (drop 每次; now it means “when I separate from family” in general, not necessarily “every time”)

Using both together emphasizes a repeated situation: each time this happens.

What does the 的 in 分开的时候 do? Why not just 分开时候?

The 的 links a verb phrase to a time word:

分开 (to separate) + 的
- 时候 (time, moment)
  → “the time/moment of separating”

Structure: [verb / verb phrase] + 的 + 时候

Examples:

下雨的时候 → when it rains
我到家的时候 → when I arrive home
看书的时候 → when (I am) reading

You cannot say 分开时候 in standard Mandarin; you need the 的 there.

What is the function of 也 in 我也会有点儿难过?

也 means “also / too”. It implies a comparison with someone or something else, often understood from context.

Here it suggests:

“I also feel a bit sad”
→ maybe other people (like my family, or others in the situation) feel sad too, and I’m the same.

If you remove it:

我会有点儿难过。 = “I will feel a bit sad.”
(Just states the fact, without the “me too” nuance.)

So 也 adds the idea that your reaction is similar to others’.

Why is 会 used here? What does 我也会有点儿难过 literally mean?

会 here indicates a typical or expected reaction in that situation, close to English “will / tend to / would”.

我也会有点儿难过。
≈ “I will / I tend to / I usually do feel a bit sad (in that situation).”

Common uses of 会:

Future / expected events:
- 明天会下雨。= It will rain tomorrow.
Typical reactions / tendencies:
- 生病的时候，我会想妈妈。= When I’m sick, I (tend to) think of my mom.
Ability (like “can”):
- 我会说汉语。= I can speak Chinese.

Here it’s type (2): “In that situation, I usually will feel a bit sad.”

What’s the nuance of 有点儿难过? How is it different from 很难过 or 一点儿难过?

有点儿难过 literally is “a little bit sad”, but there are nuances:

有点儿 + adjective often implies:
- slight, somewhat
- often with a negative or undesirable feeling
- sounds a bit like “a bit (too) … / kind of … (in a not-so-good way)”

So:

有点儿难过 = “a bit sad / a little upset” (but not extremely)
很难过 = “very sad”, clearly stronger emotion
一点儿难过 is not natural; you’d say:
- 有一点儿难过 (similar to 有点儿难过, just a bit more neutral/formal)
- or just 有点儿难过 (most common in speech)

Summary:

有点儿难过 → mild, slightly negative feeling
很难过 → clearly strong sadness

Does 难过 only mean “sad”? Can it also mean “uncomfortable” or “upset”?

难过 covers a range of emotional meanings:

“sad”
“upset”
“feeling bad / feeling low”

It is usually emotional, not physical. For physical discomfort, people more often use:

不舒服 = not feel well
难受 = feel bad / uncomfortable (often physical or mixed physical-emotional)

In this sentence, 有点儿难过 is best understood as:

“feel a bit sad / feel a bit down / feel a bit upset”
about being separated from family.

What does 就 do in 很快就习惯了?

就 here adds the idea of “then / right away / as a result”, emphasizing:

the quickness of the change
the natural, smooth progression of events

Compare:

很快习惯了。= got used to it very quickly.
很快就习惯了。= got used to it very quickly (with extra emphasis: “then (very soon) I was already used to it”).

So 就 highlights that after not very long, the new state (“being used to it”) is reached.

Why is 了 at the end of 习惯了? What does it add?

Here 了 is a change-of-state particle. It shows that something has become true (and wasn’t true before).

习惯 = to be used to; to be accustomed to
习惯了 = have become used to (now I am used to it)

So 习惯了 here means:

“I (have) gotten used to it” / “I end up used to it”.

Without 了:

很快就习惯。
→ feels incomplete or unnatural in this context; we expect 了 to show that the state has already been reached.

So the pattern is:

很快就 + [new state] + 了
= “very quickly, (I) became [that state].”

Is 习惯 here a verb (“to get used to”) or a noun/adjective (“a habit / be used to”)?

In Chinese, 习惯 can function as both, depending on context.

Verb: “to be used to / to get used to”
- 我习惯早起。= I’m used to getting up early.
- 很快就习惯了。= (I) quickly got used (to it). ✅ (here)
Noun: “habit”
- 我有这个习惯。= I have this habit.
- 好习惯 / 坏习惯 = good/bad habit

In 很快就习惯了, it works as a verb, describing the process of becoming accustomed.

Why can the subject “I” be omitted after 但是 in 但是很快就习惯了?

In Chinese, if the subject is obvious from context, it is often dropped.

Earlier in the sentence we have:

我也会有点儿难过，
so the listener already knows that we are talking about “I”.

So:

但是很快就习惯了。
is understood as:
但是(我)很快就习惯了。= “But (I) quickly got used to it.”

Omitting repeated subjects makes Chinese sound more natural and less repetitive.

Where does 很快 usually go in the sentence, and could we move it?

很快 is an adverbial phrase meaning “very quickly / soon” and it usually goes before the verb or verb phrase:

我很快就习惯了。
他很快就睡着了。= He fell asleep very quickly.

In this sentence, because the time clause is at the beginning:

每次跟家人分开的时候，我也会有点儿难过，但是很快就习惯了。

You could also say:

但是我很快就习惯了。 ✅ (adds the subject explicitly)
但是很快我就习惯了。 ✅ (less common, but possible; sounds more emphatic on “very soon”)

Main rule: 很快 goes before the part that describes what happens (习惯了).

Why is it 家人 and not 家人们? Do we need 们 for plural?

家人 already implies plurality in most contexts and normally refers to “family members / my family” as a group.

我爱我的家人。= I love my family / my family members.

Using 们:

家人们 is possible, but:
- sounds more emotional, poetic, or emphatic
- used less often in everyday speech

In standard, neutral speech, 家人 (without 们) is the normal choice. Many collective nouns in Chinese don’t need 们 to show plural (e.g. 孩子, 学生 in many contexts).

Could we say 和家人分开的时候 instead of 跟家人分开的时候? Is there any difference in feeling?

Yes, you can:

每次和家人分开的时候，我也会有点儿难过，但是很快就习惯了。 ✅

Both 跟 and 和 can mean “with” or link people:

跟朋友聊天 / 和朋友聊天 = chat with friends

Nuance:

跟 often sounds a bit more colloquial / conversational.
和 is slightly more neutral or formal in some contexts.

But in this sentence, they’re essentially interchangeable, and most native speakers won’t feel a big difference.