Learn Hardcore Chinese: Nà wèi zuòjiā shuō, tā niánqīng de shíhou zài guónèi dàxué xuéxí, hòulái chūguó liúxué, gǎnjué zìjǐ yòu xiàng xuéshēng yíyàng. - That writer said that when he studied at a university in his own country and then later went to study abroad, he felt like he was a student again.

You can say 那个作家; it just sounds more casual and not particularly respectful. In a written narrative or a slightly formal context, 那位作家 feels more natural and polite.

How does 他年轻的时候 mean “when he was young”? Where does 的 belong here?

The structure is:

他年轻 = he is/was young (in Chinese, adjectives can act like verbs: 他年轻 literally “he young”)
年轻的 turns 年轻 into something that can modify a noun or stand as a noun-like phrase.
时候 means “time; moment; when”.

So:

他年轻的时候 literally: the time when he was young
- 他 – he
- 年轻的 – (the time of) being young
- 时候 – time / when

The 的 links 年轻 to 时候, forming “the time of being young”.

Compare:

他小的时候 – when he was little
我在中国的时候 – when I was in China

Pattern: (subject) + verb/adj + 的时候 → “when (subject) verb/adj”.

Why is 时候 (shíhou) used and not 时间 (shíjiān)?

Both relate to “time”, but they’re used differently:

时候 = a point or period in time, often used like “when …”
- 我回家的时候 – when I go home
- 他年轻的时候 – when he was young
时间 = time as a quantity or resource, like “time (in general / amount of time)”
- 你有时间吗？ – Do you have time?
- 我没有时间学习。 – I don’t have time to study.

In this sentence, we’re talking about a period in his life (“when he was young”), so 时候 is correct, not 时间.

What exactly does 在国内大学学习 mean, and why use 国内 instead of just saying 在大学学习 or 在中国的大学学习?

在国内大学学习 literally means “study at a university in the home country”.

在 – at / in
国内 – inside the country / domestically
大学 – university
学习 – to study

国内 is used from the speaker’s (or writer’s) perspective:

If the writer is Chinese, 国内 means “within China”.
It contrasts with 国外 (“abroad”).

So the contrast in the sentence is:

在国内大学学习 – studied at a university in his own country
后来出国留学 – later went abroad to study

You could also say:

在中国的大学学习 – more explicit “at a university in China”
在中国大学学习 – also natural

Using 国内 emphasizes the contrast domestic vs. abroad rather than naming the country.

Is there a difference between 国内大学 and 国内的大学? Could we add 的 there?

Both are grammatically fine:

国内大学 – more concise, common in written or semi-formal style
国内的大学 – a bit more “spoken” or explicit, with 的 clearly marking 国内 as an adjective to 大学

Meaning-wise, they’re almost the same: “universities in the home country”. In many noun + adjective/noun modifier combinations, 的 can be dropped, especially in shorter, common expressions:

大学生 (not 大学的生) – college student
中国人 (not 中国的人) – Chinese person
国内大学 – domestic universities

So 在国内大学学习 sounds perfectly natural and slightly more compact.

What does 出国留学 mean exactly? Why both 出国 and 留学?

出国留学 is a set phrase meaning “to go abroad to study”.

出国 – to go abroad / to leave the country
留学 – to study abroad (literally “stay and study”)

Together:

出国留学 emphasizes both the action of going abroad and the purpose (studying).

Could you say them separately?

出国 – just means going out of the country (for any reason: work, travel, study, etc.).
留学 – already implies studying abroad; 他去美国留学 = “He went to the US to study.”

In this sentence, 出国留学 is a very natural combination and sounds like standard phrasing for “went abroad to study”. You could also say:

后来他去国外留学 – Later he went abroad to study.
后来他出国学习 – Later he went abroad to study. (also OK)

What’s the difference between 后来 (hòulái) and 然后 (ránhòu)? Why is 后来 used here?

Both relate to “later/then”, but they’re used differently:

后来 – used to talk about a later time in the real-world sequence of events, often when you look back on a story or past events.
- 我先在北京工作，后来去了上海。
  I first worked in Beijing, later went to Shanghai.
然后 – often used as “and then” to list steps or actions, especially in instructions or narratives.
- 先洗菜，然后切菜。 – First wash the vegetables, then cut them.

In this sentence, we’re narrating his life history:

Young: 在国内大学学习
Later in life: 后来出国留学

This is a life timeline, so 后来 (later in time) is more appropriate than 然后, which would sound more like listing immediate steps.

There’s no 了 anywhere in the sentence, but it’s about past events. How is the past shown here?

Chinese often expresses time through time words and context, not strict tense markers like in English.

Past-ness is clear from:

年轻的时候 – “when he was young”
后来 – “later”

Once the time frame is clearly in the past, verbs don’t have to take 了 or 过. So:

在国内大学学习 – studied at a domestic university
后来出国留学 – later went abroad to study

You could say:

他年轻的时候在国内大学学习过 – He once studied at a domestic university when he was young.
后来出国留学了 – Then he went abroad to study (completed action, more “event-like”).

But in narrative summaries like this, omitting 了/过 is very normal as long as the time is clear.

In 后来出国留学，感觉自己又像学生一样, who is the subject? Why can 他 be omitted?

The understood subject is still 他 (the same person as earlier in the sentence).

Chinese frequently drops the subject once it’s clear from context. The logic is:

他年轻的时候在国内大学学习，
(他) 后来出国留学，
(他) 感觉自己又像学生一样。

Every clause is about 他, so repeating 他 each time would be redundant and sound heavier than necessary. Native sentences often omit pronouns when they are obvious.

What does 感觉自己又像学生一样 literally mean, and how is this structure built?

Breakdown:

感觉 – to feel / to have the feeling that …
自己 – oneself / himself
又 – again (here, in the sense of “once more”)
像 – to be like / to resemble
学生 – student
一样 – the same / in the same way

So literally:

感觉自己又像学生一样
- He felt that he again was like a student (the same as a student).

Natural translation:

“He felt like a student again.”

Structure:

感觉 + (clause) – feel that (clause)
- 感觉自己老了 – feel that I’ve gotten old
- 感觉这里很安静 – feel that it’s very quiet here
像 + noun + 一样 – be like (a) noun
- 像孩子一样 – like a child
- 像老师一样 – like a teacher

Combine them: 感觉 + 自己 + 又像学生一样.

What is the function of 又 (yòu) here? Is it “again”? How is it different from 再 (zài)?

In this sentence, 又 does mean “again”, referring to a repeated state:

He was a student before (in his youth),
Now he goes abroad to study,
He feels like a student again: 又像学生一样.

Differences between 又 and 再 in the sense of “again”:

又 is usually used for:
- a repetition that has already happened (past),
- or to comment on something that is already realized or felt.
- It’s often more subjective / emotional.
再 is usually used for:
- something that will happen (future / planned),
- commands, wishes, or hypotheticals.

Examples:

他又迟到了。 – He was late again. (already happened)
不要再迟到。 – Don’t be late again. (future repetition)

Here:

又像学生一样 – he finds himself once more in the state of “being like a student”, and he’s talking about a realized feeling, so 又 is appropriate.

How does the pattern 像…一样 work? Is 一样 necessary?

Pattern:

像 + noun/phrase + 一样 = “(be) like …; (act) like …; the same as …”

Examples:

他像孩子一样。 – He is like a child.
她跑得像风一样快。 – She runs as fast as the wind.
今天冷得像冬天一样。 – Today is as cold as winter.

In this sentence:

像学生一样 – like a (being a) student

Is 一样 necessary?

You can drop 一样 in many cases:
- 他像孩子。 – He’s like a child.
- 又像学生。 – (He) is like a student again.

However:

像…一样 is a very common, slightly more emphatic structure.
一样 highlights the idea of “the same (as)”.

So:

又像学生一样 = “again (he’s) just like a student (the same as a student)”, which sounds very natural and vivid.

Why isn’t there a 是 before 像, as in 他感觉自己又是像学生一样?

In Chinese, 像 itself acts as the main verb in this kind of sentence; it doesn’t need 是.

他像老师。 – He is like a teacher. (no 是)
这儿像家一样。 – This place is like home.

是 is typically used to link a subject with a noun directly (“X is Y”):

他是老师。 – He is a teacher.
那是我的书。 – That is my book.

But 像 is already a verb meaning “to be like / to resemble”, so:

他感觉自己又像学生一样。 – correct and natural
他感觉自己又是像学生一样。 – sounds unnatural/redundant in modern standard Chinese

You could instead say:

他感觉自己又是个学生。 – He felt he was a student again.
Here 是 links 自己 and 个学生, and there’s no 像.