Learn Hardcore Chinese: hěnduō xuéshēng juéde guónèi dàxué de xuéfèi bǐ chūguó liúxué piányi. - Many students feel that tuition at domestic universities is cheaper than studying abroad.

Chinese usually starts with the topic/subject, then says what they do or think. Here, the speaker wants to talk about students’ opinions, not about the universities themselves, so 很多学生 comes first.

很多学生觉得…… = Many students think that…
国内大学的学费…… = The tuition fees of domestic universities…

You could make 国内大学 the topic in a different sentence, but it would change the focus:

国内大学的学费，很多学生觉得比出国留学便宜。
“As for domestic universities’ tuition, many students think it’s cheaper than studying abroad.”

The original sentence is more straightforward: subject (很多学生) + verb (觉得) + clause.

What’s the difference between 很多 and 很? Why is it 很多学生, not 很学生?

很多 and 很 are completely different:

很 = “very” (degree adverb for adjectives)
- 很贵 = very expensive
- 很便宜 = very cheap
很多 = “many / a lot of” (quantifier for nouns)
- 很多学生 = many students
- 很多问题 = many questions

You cannot say 很学生 in standard Mandarin; 很 doesn’t modify nouns. You need 多 to talk about “many”, so 很多学生 is “many students”.

How can 学生 mean “students” without any plural ending like -s?

Chinese nouns generally do not change form for singular vs plural.

学生 can mean “student” or “students”.
老师 can mean “teacher” or “teachers”.

Plurality is usually clear from context or from words like 很多 (“many”), 一些 (“some”), 三个 (“three”), etc.

In 很多学生, 很多 already shows that it’s plural: “many students”.

What’s the difference between 觉得, 想, and 认为? Why use 觉得 here?

All three can relate to thinking, but they’re used differently.

觉得 – “to feel / to think (subjectively)”
- Used for personal opinions or feelings, often informal.
- 我觉得这个电影很好看。
  “I think this movie is very good.”
想 – “to think / to want / to intend”
- Often “to think about, to consider” or “to want to”.
- 我在想明年去哪儿。
  “I’m thinking about where to go next year.”
- 我想出国留学。
  “I want to study abroad.”
认为 – “to consider / to hold the opinion that”
- More formal, often used in writing, reports, discussions.
- 专家认为这个政策有问题。
  “Experts consider that this policy has problems.”

In this sentence, 很多学生觉得…… is talking about students’ personal feelings/opinions, so 觉得 is the most natural.

What exactly does 国内 mean? How is it different from 中国 or 在国内?

国内 literally means “inside the country”, i.e. domestic / within one’s own country.
中国 is specifically “China”.

So:

国内大学 = domestic universities (within one’s own country – in context, usually China)
中国的大学 = universities of China (explicitly “Chinese universities”)

They often overlap in context (since speakers are usually in China), but technically:

A Chinese person talking about 国内大学 means universities inside China.
A foreigner in China could also say 国内大学, meaning universities inside this country (China).

在国内 is a phrase “in the country / domestically”:

在国内上大学 = go to university at home / domestically
在国内旅游 = travel domestically, inside the country

In 国内大学, 国内 directly modifies 大学, so there’s no 在.

Why is there a 的 after 大学 in 国内大学的学费? What does 的 do here?

的 is used here to form an attributive (a modifier) for a noun.

国内大学的学费 literally is:

国内大学 (domestic universities) + 的
- 学费 (tuition fees)
  = “the tuition fees of domestic universities”.

Functionally, it’s like the English possessive or “of”-phrase:

A 的 B ≈ “B of A” or “A’s B”.

You will also see 国内大学学费 (dropping 的) in some contexts, especially in headlines or more compact phrases, but 国内大学的学费 is the standard, fully explicit form.

How does the 比 structure work here? What is being compared to what?

The basic comparison pattern with 比 is:

A + 比 + B + Adjective
A is more [adjective] than B.

In the sentence:

国内大学的学费 = A (tuition of domestic universities)
出国留学 = B (studying abroad)
便宜 = adjective (“cheap / inexpensive”)

So:

国内大学的学费比出国留学便宜。
The tuition of domestic universities is cheaper than studying abroad.

Notice:

There is no word for “than” other than 比; 比 itself expresses “than”.
Word order is: thing that is cheaper
- 比
  - thing it’s cheaper than
    - adjective.

Why is there no 更 before 便宜? Can I say 更便宜?

You can say 更便宜, but it changes the nuance slightly.

A 比 B 便宜。
A is cheaper than B. (simple comparison)
A 比 B 更便宜。
A is even cheaper / still cheaper than B. (emphasis on degree)

In everyday speech, people often omit 更 in 比 sentences because 比 already indicates “more/less”. Adding 更 is optional emphasis.

So the original 比出国留学便宜 is completely natural: “is cheaper than studying abroad.”

Why can 便宜 be used directly at the end? Why not 是便宜的 or something with 是?

In Chinese, many adjectives can function like stative verbs, meaning they can act as the predicate without 是.

Structure:

(Subject) + Adjective
= “(Subject) is [adjective].”

Examples:

学费很贵。 = “The tuition is expensive.”
这个地方很安静。 = “This place is quiet.”

With 比-comparatives, you normally do not add 很:

国内大学的学费比出国留学便宜。
NOT 比出国留学很便宜 in this structure.

是……的 is used for a different kind of emphasis or description and sounds unnatural here. You would not say:

✗ 学费是便宜的 (to mean simply “the tuition is cheap” in this kind of comparison).

So the simple predicate 便宜 is correct: “(is) cheap(er)”.

Why do we say 出国留学 with both 出国 and 留学? Isn’t one of them enough?

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

出国留学 combines both:

It emphasizes both the act of going abroad and the purpose of studying, so it’s very clear: “to go abroad to study”.

You can sometimes use them separately, depending on context:

我想出国。
“I want to go abroad.” (purpose unclear)
他打算去美国留学。
“He plans to go to the US to study.” (留学 already implies “abroad”)

But 出国留学 is a common, set-like phrase for “study overseas”. In 比出国留学便宜, it’s like “cheaper than going abroad to study”.

Is 国内大学的学费 the only way to say “domestic university tuition”? Could I say 在国内上大学的学费?

You can say 在国内上大学的学费, but it’s longer and slightly different in focus.

国内大学的学费
Literally: “the tuition fees of domestic universities.”
Short, natural, very common.
在国内上大学的学费
Literally: “the tuition fees for attending university in the country.”
Grammatically fine, but more verbose and a bit heavier.

In most cases, 国内大学的学费 is the preferred, natural expression. The original sentence already sounds concise and idiomatic.

Why is there no measure word like 个 or 些 with 学生 or 学费?

Chinese doesn’t always need a measure word before a noun:

When a noun is modified by a quantifier like 很多:
- 很多学生
  The quantifier 很多 already functions as the “amount words”, no extra measure like 个 is needed.
- You don’t say ✗ 很多个学生 in standard formal style (though you might hear it in casual speech).
学费 is usually treated as an uncountable noun (like “tuition” or “rent” in English).
- Just saying 学费 is fine.
- If you really want to quantify, you’d usually talk about amount of money:
  一年的学费 (“one year’s tuition”), 学费是三万块 (“the tuition is 30,000 RMB”), etc.

So 很多学生 and 学费 here are perfectly natural without separate measure words.

Could we flip the comparison to say that studying abroad is more expensive? How would that look?

Yes, you can flip the sides of the comparison.

Original:

国内大学的学费比出国留学便宜。
“Domestic university tuition is cheaper than studying abroad.”

Flipped:

出国留学比在国内上大学贵。
“Studying abroad is more expensive than going to university at home.”

Or staying closer to the original elements:

出国留学比国内大学的学费贵。
Sounds a bit awkward because you’re comparing an activity (“studying abroad”) to tuition fees; better to phrase both sides as costs:

Better versions:

出国留学的费用比在国内上大学的费用贵。
“The cost of studying abroad is higher than the cost of going to university at home.”
出国留学比在国内上大学更贵。
“Studying abroad is more expensive than going to university at home.”

Core rule is the same:
A + 比 + B + Adj. Just make sure A and B are comparable things.