Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ juéde xué shùxué bù tài róngyì.

觉得 is very common in spoken Chinese for subjective opinions or feelings:
- 我觉得今天很冷。
  I feel (I think) it’s very cold today.
想 can mean “to think, to want, to miss”, but when used as “think”, it’s often more about the mental act of considering something, or planning:
- 我想学中文。
  I want to study Chinese.
- 让我想一想。
  Let me think about it.
认为 sounds more formal and objective, like “to hold the view that / to consider”:
- 我认为这个方法更好。
  I consider this method better.

In casual speech, when you want to say “I think …” as an opinion, 我觉得… is usually the most natural.

Why is it 学数学 and not just 数学 or 学习数学?

学数学 is a verb-object structure:
- 学 (xué) = to study / to learn
- 数学 (shùxué) = mathematics
- Together: 学数学 = to study math / to learn math
数学 by itself is just the noun “math”:
- 我喜欢数学。
  I like math.
学习 (xuéxí) also means “to study; to learn”, but:
- 学 is shorter, more colloquial, and very common in everyday speech.
- 学习数学 is correct, but sounds a bit more formal or written in this sentence.

So:

我学数学。 = I study math. (natural, everyday)
我学习数学。 = I study mathematics. (more formal / written)

Why doesn’t the sentence use 是 (shì), like “不太是容易”?

In Chinese, adjectives can act like verbs, especially when describing a state:

容易 (róngyì) is an adjective: easy.
In 不太容易, 容易 is used just like a stative verb: “to be easy”.
You don’t say 是容易 here; you just say 容易, and modify it with 不太.

So:

这很容易。
This is easy. (literally “This very easy.”)
不太容易。
Not very easy.

是 is typically used to link nouns:

他是老师。
He is a teacher.

But not with most adjectives:

✅ 他很高。 (He is tall.)
❌ 他是高。 (incorrect in this sense)

What exactly does 不太 (bù tài) mean here? Is it “not too” or “not very”?

不太 + adjective usually means “not very …” or “not so …”, often with a mild tone.

In 不太容易:

It doesn’t mean “too easy” (that would be 太容易 on its own).
It means “not very easy / not so easy”.

Nuance:

太容易 = too easy (excessively easy)
不太容易 = not very easy; a bit difficult (softened, not extremely strong)

Could I say 很不容易 instead of 不太容易? What’s the difference?

You can say both, but the feeling is different:

不太容易 – mild:
- not very easy; a bit difficult
- Softens the statement; sounds less strong or dramatic.
很不容易 – stronger:
- very difficult; really not easy
- Emphasizes that it’s quite hard.

So:

我觉得学数学不太容易。
I think studying math is not very easy. (moderate)
我觉得学数学很不容易。
I think studying math is really hard. (stronger, more emphatic)

How is 不太 (bù tài) actually pronounced here? I heard that 不 (bù) can change tone.

Yes, 不 (bù) has a tone sandhi rule:

Before a fourth tone (falling tone) syllable, 不 is pronounced bú (second tone).

太 (tài) is fourth tone, so:

Written: bù tài
Spoken: bú tài

So 不太容易 is pronounced:

bú tài róngyì

In English we say “I think studying math is not very easy.” Why doesn’t Chinese use a word for “is” before 不太容易?

Chinese doesn’t need “to be” for adjectives used predicatively.

The structure is:

[subject] + [觉得] + [clause]
In the clause, an adjective can function as the verb.

So:

我觉得 = I think / I feel
学数学不太容易 = (studying math) not very easy

There is no empty slot where “is” must go:

✅ 学数学不太容易。
❌ 学数学是不太容易。 (possible in some special emphatic contexts, but not needed here and sounds off as a simple statement)

Is 学数学 functioning like a noun (“studying math”) or like a verb phrase (“to study math”)?

In 我觉得学数学不太容易, 学数学 is a verb-object phrase being used as the subject of 不太容易.

You can think of it as:

“The act of studying math is not very easy.”

In Chinese, verb phrases can often serve as subjects:

学中文很有意思。
Studying Chinese is very interesting.
早起很难。
Getting up early is hard.

So 学数学 here is more like “studying math (the activity)” functioning as a subject.

Can I move 不太 somewhere else, like 我觉得不太学数学容易?

No, 不太 must come directly before the adjective it modifies.

Pattern:

不太 + adjective

In this sentence, 容易 is the adjective, so:

✅ 学数学不太容易。
❌ 学数学容易不太。 (incorrect)
❌ 不太学数学容易。 (incorrect)

You can only shift other parts:

我觉得学数学不太容易。
学数学不太容易，我觉得。 (less common, but possible in speech for emphasis)

But 不太 always stays right before 容易.

Could I say 我觉得学数学很难 instead? Is 难 the same as 不容易?

Yes, you can say:

我觉得学数学很难。
I think studying math is very hard.

难 (nán) = difficult, hard
不容易 (bù róngyì) = not easy

They are similar, but not identical in tone:

不容易 is slightly softer; literally “not easy”.
难 is more directly “difficult”.

So:

不太容易 = not very easy (mild)
很难 = very difficult (stronger)

Why is there no tense marker like “am/was”? Does the sentence mean “I think,” “I thought,” or “I find”?

Chinese usually expresses tense with context, not verb endings.

我觉得学数学不太容易 can be translated as:

I think studying math is not very easy.
I find studying math not very easy.

If the context is past, it can be understood as “I thought / I found”.

To be more explicit about time, you can add time words:

以前我觉得学数学不太容易。
Before, I thought studying math was not very easy.
现在我觉得学数学不太容易。
Now I think studying math is not very easy.

Is 觉得 followed by a full sentence here? What is the structure after 我觉得?

Yes, 觉得 can be followed by a whole clause (a “sentence inside a sentence”):

Structure:

我觉得 [学数学不太容易]。

Here:

我 = subject of the main clause
觉得 = main verb (think, feel)
学数学不太容易 = object clause (what you think)

Within that object clause:

学数学 = subject
不太容易 = predicate (adjective phrase)

So syntactically it’s like:

I think [studying math is not very easy].

What’s the difference between 学 and 学习 in general?

Both mean “to study; to learn”, but usage differs:

学:
- Short, very common in spoken Chinese.
- Often used with an object:
  学中文, 学数学, 学开车
学习:
- Slightly more formal / written.
- Can be used with or without an object:
  - 我要好好学习。
    I must study hard.
  - 学习汉语。
    Study Chinese.

In 我觉得学数学不太容易, using 学 sounds natural and conversational.
我觉得学习数学不太容易 is also correct but feels a bit more formal or textbook-like.