Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhè piān wénzhāng hěn yǒuyìsi.

Saying 这篇文章是很有意思 is only used in more special/emphatic contexts (e.g., contrasting with something else: 这篇文章是很有意思，但是太长了。 – This article *is interesting, but it’s too long.). For a neutral statement, you just say *这篇文章很有意思。

Does 很 really mean very here? Is the sentence saying This article is very interesting or just This article is interesting?

Grammatically, 很 means very, but in everyday speech before adjectives it often works as a kind of default link between the subject and the adjective, and the “very” meaning is often weak or even neutral.

So:

这篇文章很有意思。
Most of the time is understood as This article is interesting, not necessarily very interesting.

If you really want to strongly emphasize very, you can use:

非常有意思, 特别有意思, 真有意思, etc.

But if you omit 很 completely:

这篇文章有意思。

this is still correct and natural, but it can sound slightly more evaluative, like a more deliberate comment, or sometimes more like a short exclamation. In many contexts, with or without 很, the English translation will just be This article is interesting.

Can I leave out 很? What is the difference between 这篇文章有意思 and 这篇文章很有意思?

Both are correct.

这篇文章很有意思。
Most common, very neutral and natural. The 很 is often more of a soft link than a strong very.
这篇文章有意思。
Also correct. It may sound:
- a bit more concise/emphatic, like an evaluation: This article *is interesting!*
- more like you are directly judging or commenting on it.

In many situations, there’s no big difference. As a learner, it’s safe and natural to usually include 很 before adjectives in simple descriptive sentences like this.

What exactly is 篇? Why do we need it between 这 and 文章?

篇 is a measure word (classifier) used for written texts like:

articles
essays
papers
chapters
some types of short stories

Chinese almost always requires a measure word when you use 这 (this), 那 (that), or a number before a noun.

Pattern:

这 + measure word + noun

So you say:

这篇文章 – this (one) article
not 这文章 (incorrect in standard usage).

Other examples with 篇:

一篇文章 – one article
几篇论文 – several papers
那篇报道 – that report

Can I use 个 instead of 篇, like 这个文章?

For 文章, the natural classifier is 篇, not 个.

这篇文章 ✅ natural
这个文章 ❌ sounds wrong to native speakers

个 is a very common, general classifier, but many nouns have preferred or “fixed” measure words. For texts:

一篇文章 – an article
一份报纸 – a newspaper
一本书 – a book

Learners often overuse 个, but here, stick with 篇.

Why is the order 这篇文章 and not 文章这篇? Is 文章这篇 ever correct?

The normal order with demonstratives is:

这 / 那 + measure word + noun

So:

这篇文章 – this article
那本书 – that book

文章这篇 is not the default order and would usually sound wrong in isolation.

However, noun + 这篇 / 那篇 can appear in specific contexts for emphasis or contrast, for example when you are choosing or specifying among multiple items:

文章这篇比较简单，那篇比较难。
This article is relatively easy; that one is harder.

Here, 文章这篇 means the article, this one (as opposed to some other one). But for a normal, standalone sentence, you should say 这篇文章.

What does 有意思 literally mean? How is it different from 有趣 or 好玩?

Literally:

有 – to have
意思 – meaning / idea
So 有意思 literally is to have meaning, and by extension it means interesting.

Usage differences:

有意思
- very common, quite general
- can describe articles, conversations, people, events, ideas
- tone is friendly, positive
- 这篇文章很有意思。 – This article is interesting.
有趣
- also means interesting, sometimes slightly more formal/literary than 有意思
- common in writing: 这本书很有趣。
好玩
- literally fun / fun to play
- more for activities, games, places, or sometimes people (playful, fun):
- 这个游戏很好玩。 – This game is fun.

You can say 这篇文章有趣 too; it’s fine. 有意思 is just a very natural, everyday choice here.

Is 有意思 treated as one word or two? Can I use 很 with it just like a normal adjective?

Grammatically, 有意思 functions as a single adjective-like verb phrase meaning to be interesting.

You use it:

with 很 / 非常 / 真 / 特别 etc., just like with typical adjectives:
- 很有意思
- 非常有意思
- 真有意思
in patterns like:
- 这部电影挺有意思的。
- 这个人好有意思。

So even though it’s written as two characters, you can think of 有意思 as a single describing word: interesting.

How do I say This article is not interesting? Can I just say 不有意思?

You do not say 不有意思.

More natural options:

这篇文章没意思。
Literally has no meaning – idiomatically: This article is boring / not interesting.
Very common, a bit blunt/negative.
这篇文章不太有意思。
Literally not too interesting – a softer, more polite way to say it’s not very interesting.
这篇文章不怎么有意思。
Also means not very interesting, a bit colloquial.

So:

没意思 = boring / not interesting
不太有意思, 不怎么有意思 = not very interesting (milder)

Avoid 不有意思; it’s not natural.

How do I talk about tense? Does 这篇文章很有意思 mean is interesting, was interesting, or will be interesting?

Chinese verbs and adjectives do not change form for tense.

这篇文章很有意思。 can mean:

This article is interesting. (general statement, now)
The article we read (earlier) was interesting. (context provides past time)
That article (we’ll read) is interesting. (if context is about the future)

Time is shown mainly by:

time words:
- 昨天 (yesterday), 刚才 (just now), 明天 (tomorrow), 以后 (later), etc.
context and sometimes aspect particles (like 了), though here there is no 了 because 有意思 is a state, not a completed action.

Example:

昨天读的那篇文章很有意思。
The article (that we read yesterday) was very interesting.

Can I say 那篇文章很有意思 to mean That article is interesting?

Yes.

这篇文章 – this article
那篇文章 – that article

You simply swap the demonstrative:

那篇文章很有意思。
That article is interesting.

The rest of the sentence structure stays the same.

Anything special about the pronunciation here, especially 这 and 很?

Key points:

这: standard pronunciation is zhè (4th tone).
In spoken Mandarin, you may also hear zhèi (like 这一篇, pronounced zhèipiān / zhèipiān). Both are understood, but zhè is the standard form.
很: written as hěn (3rd tone).
In connected speech before an adjective, many speakers pronounce it in a lighter / less stressed way (it can sound close to a neutralized tone), but it’s still treated as 3rd tone in tone-sandhi rules (e.g., 很有意思 → hén yǒu yìsi with the usual flow).

For basic learning, just remember:

这 zhè
篇 piān
文章 wénzhāng
很 hěn
有意思 yǒu yìsi