Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ juéde kēxué hěn yǒuyìsi. - I think science is very interesting.

It can mean “very”:
- 科学很有意思 – Science is very interesting.
In everyday speech, it is often not strongly emphasized and functions more like a link between the noun and the adjective:
- It can feel closer to just “is interesting” rather than “is very interesting”.

If you really want to stress very, you might use stronger words:

非常有意思 – extremely interesting
特别有意思 – especially interesting

What exactly does 觉得 (juéde) mean? Is it more like “think” or “feel”?

觉得 sits between “think” and “feel” in English:

It expresses a personal impression, opinion, or feeling.
我觉得科学很有意思。 – I think / feel that science is interesting.

Some nuances:

It can be about intellectual opinion:
我觉得这个办法不错。 – I think this method is good.
Or about physical/emotional feeling:
我觉得有点冷。 – I feel a bit cold.

So it’s often best translated as “I feel that…” or “I think that…”, depending on context.

Can I say 我想科学很有意思 instead of 我觉得科学很有意思?

Native speakers almost always use 我觉得科学很有意思, not 我想科学很有意思.

Reasons:

觉得 = I feel / I (subjectively) think that…
Very natural for personal opinions.
想 has several meanings:
- to want: 我想吃饭。 – I want to eat.
- to miss (someone): 我想你。 – I miss you.
- to think / consider / plan: 我想一想。 – Let me think about it.

Using 想 in the meaning “I think that…” is more common when you’re deciding or planning something:

我想明天去。 – I think I’ll go tomorrow / I plan to go tomorrow.

For opinions about facts, 觉得 is the natural choice:

✅ 我觉得科学很有意思。
❌ 我想科学很有意思。 (sounds off in most contexts)

Where is the word “that” in 我觉得科学很有意思 (as in “I think that science is very interesting”)?

Chinese usually does not need a word like English “that” to introduce a clause after 觉得.

Structure:

我觉得 + [sentence]

So:

我觉得科学很有意思。
= I think (that) science is very interesting.

You could insert “that” in English, but in Chinese nothing is needed:

No 的, no 说, no extra word – just 觉得 + sentence.

What does 有意思 (yǒuyìsi) literally mean, and how does that become “interesting”?

Literally:

有 – to have
意思 – meaning / idea

So 有意思 literally is “to have meaning” or “to have significance”.
From that, it developed the common sense “interesting”.

Examples:

这本书很有意思。 – This book is very interesting.
他这个人挺有意思的。 – He’s quite an interesting / amusing person.

In some contexts, 有意思 can also mean:

“kind of romantic” (between people)
“funny / amusing”, depending on tone and situation.

What’s the difference between 有意思, 有趣, 好玩, and 有意义?

All can relate to “interesting,” but with different flavors:

有意思
- broad, very common in speech
- “interesting”, “amusing”, sometimes “intriguing”
- 我觉得科学很有意思。 – I think science is (quite) interesting.
有趣 (yǒuqù)
- a bit more bookish / formal
- “interesting”, “fascinating”
- 这篇文章很有趣。 – This article is very interesting.
好玩 (hǎowán)
- literally “good to play”
- “fun”, “entertaining”, “enjoyable”
- 这个游戏很好玩。 – This game is really fun.
- Using 科学很好玩 sounds more like “Science is fun to play with / fun as an activity.”
有意义 (yǒu yìyì)
- “meaningful”, “significant”
- 这份工作很有意义。 – This job is very meaningful.

For your sentence, 有意思 and 有趣 both work, but 有意思 is more colloquial and flexible.

How do you say “not interesting”? Is it 不有意思?

You do not say 不有意思.

For not interesting / boring, use:

没意思 or 没有意思

Examples:

这堂课很没意思。 – This class is really boring.
昨天的电影一点儿也没有意思。 – Yesterday’s movie was not interesting at all.

So the pattern is:

有意思 → 没有意思 / 没意思 (boring, not interesting)
Not 不有意思.

Does 科学 (kēxué) always mean “science”, or can it mean “scientific”?

科学 can be both a noun and an adjective, depending on context:

As a noun – science (the subject/field)
- 我对科学很感兴趣。 – I’m very interested in science.
- In 我觉得科学很有意思, it is clearly a noun: “science”.
As an adjective – scientific, rational, according to science
- 这个方法很科学。 – This method is very scientific.
- 要用科学的态度看问题。 – Use a scientific attitude to look at problems.

In your sentence, understand 科学 as science (the field).

Can I drop 我 and just say 觉得科学很有意思 or even just 科学很有意思?

Yes, both are possible, depending on context:

科学很有意思。
- No subject at all.
- Means simply: Science is very interesting.
- Natural if it’s clear you’re making a general statement, not emphasizing it’s just your personal opinion.
觉得科学很有意思。
- Grammatically okay, and in conversation you might hear something like:
  - 嗯，觉得科学很有意思。 – Yeah, (I) think science is interesting.
- Here 我 is understood from context (e.g., you’re answering a question about yourself).
我觉得科学很有意思。
- Full, explicit sentence.
- Very natural, especially when first introducing your opinion.

For learners, 我觉得科学很有意思 is the safest and clearest form.

How do I say “I used to think science was interesting, but now I don’t” in Chinese?

Chinese doesn’t mark past tense on the verb, so you add time words to show when.

One natural version:

我以前觉得科学很有意思，但是现在不觉得了。
- 我以前 – in the past / I used to
- 觉得科学很有意思 – thought science was interesting
- 但是现在不觉得了 – but now I don’t (anymore).

Key points:

以前 marks the past.
Adding 了 after 不觉得 here suggests a change: you no longer feel that way.

How should I pronounce 觉得 (juéde) and 有意思 (yǒuyìsi)? Any tone tips?

Pronunciation details:

我觉得科学很有意思。
- 我 – wǒ (3rd tone, low “dipping” tone, often pronounced a bit lighter before 觉)
- 觉 – jué (2nd tone, rising)
- 得 – de (neutral tone, very light)

So 觉得 is jué·de, with the second syllable unstressed and short.

有意思 – yǒu yì·si
- 有 – yǒu (3rd tone)
- 意 – yì (4th tone, sharp falling)
- 思 – si (neutral tone, light)

Try to keep the neutral-tone syllables quick and soft:

jué·de, not jué-dé
yì·si, not yì-sī

This gives you a much more natural rhythm:

wǒ jué·de kē·xué hěn yǒu yì·si.