Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān wǒ kěnéng tài lèi le, suǒyǐ zhǐ xiǎng zài jiā xiūxi. - Maybe I’m too tired today, so I just want to rest at home.

我太可能累了 – sounds wrong; 太 should directly modify an adjective (累) or adjective phrase, not 可能.
我太累了，可能。 – feels incomplete, like “I’m too tired, maybe…” trailing off.

So the natural pattern is:

Subject + 可能 + [adjective / verb phrase]

Examples:

我可能忙。= I might be busy.
他今天可能不会来。= He might not come today.

Does 太累了 here mean “too tired” (excessive) or just “very tired”?

In this sentence, 太累了 is best understood as “really/so tired”, not strictly “too tired (excessively tired)”.

太 + adjective + 了 often expresses a strong, subjective feeling, more like:

“so tired”
“really tired”
“tired to the point that I feel it’s a lot”

English “too tired” can also have this feeling, so it matches fairly well.

Compare:

太好了！ = That’s great! / So good!
太贵了。 = It’s (way) too expensive.
我太累了。 = I’m so tired. / I’m exhausted.

So yes, it can literally be “too tired”, but in daily speech it often just means “very/so tired” with emotion.

What is the function of the 了 at the end of 太累了?

This 了 is a sentence-final 了, not the past-tense marker English speakers imagine. It usually indicates:

a change of state (“now it has become this way”), or
that the speaker feels the situation is already true / has reached a point.

我太累了 suggests:

I’ve (now) become very tired.
I am already very tired (as a new or notable state).

Compare:

我累。= I’m (just) tired.
我累了。= I’ve become tired / I’m tired now.
外面下雨了。= It (has) started raining. / It’s raining now (change of state).

In your sentence, 太累了 sounds much more natural than 太累 alone.

Why is there a 所以 here? Can I say the sentence without it?

Your sentence is:

今天我可能太累了，所以只想在家休息。

所以 means “so / therefore” and introduces the result clause.

First part: 今天我可能太累了。= reason / cause
Second part: 所以只想在家休息。= result / consequence

You can omit 所以 in casual speech and just rely on the pause:

今天我可能太累了，只想在家休息。

This is still fine; the relationship is understood from context. With 所以, the logical structure is more explicit, a bit like using “so” or “therefore” in English.

You could also use the full 因为…所以… pattern:

因为今天我可能太累了，所以只想在家休息。
= Because I might be really tired today, (so) I just want to rest at home.

All three are grammatical; 因为…所以… feels slightly more formal/complete, while your original is very natural and conversational.

Should there be another 我 before 只想? Why is it 所以只想… and not 所以我只想…?

Both are correct:

今天我可能太累了，所以只想在家休息。
今天我可能太累了，所以我只想在家休息。

Chinese often omits the subject in the second clause when it is obviously the same as the first clause. Here, it’s clear that “I” is still the subject, so dropping 我 is fine and natural.

Adding 我 can:

make the sentence slightly more explicit,
sometimes add a tiny bit of emphasis: “so I just want to rest at home.”

But for everyday speech, the shorter version is very common.

What exactly does 只 in 只想 mean here?

只 (zhǐ) means “only / just”.

In 只想在家休息, it modifies the verb 想 (want), giving the nuance:

I only / just want to rest at home (and nothing more).

It subtly implies that:

you don’t want to do other activities (go out, work, socialize, etc.);
resting at home is your sole desire right now.

Compare:

我想在家休息。= I want to rest at home.
我只想在家休息。= I just want to rest at home (and that’s all).

So 只 adds a narrowed, somewhat “please don’t ask for more” feeling.

Why is 想 used here instead of 要 or 想要?

In this sentence:

只想在家休息

想 expresses a desire, wish, or inclination:

“(I) feel like / want to rest at home.”

Very roughly:

想 = want (as a feeling / wish)
要 = be going to / intend to / must
想要 = strongly want (often more concrete, with an object)

Examples:

我想休息。= I want to rest / I feel like resting.
我要休息。= I’m going to rest / I must rest. (more decided / firm)
我想要一杯咖啡。= I want a cup of coffee. (object-focused want)

In your context, you’re talking about what you feel like doing because you’re tired, so 想 is the most natural choice.

Why is it 在家休息 and not 休息在家?

In Chinese, the usual pattern is:

在 + place + Verb

So:

在家休息 = rest at home (literally: “at home rest”)

休息在家 is technically understandable, but sounds unnatural in everyday speech. That order (Verb + 在 + place) is usually used in more specific patterns, for example when 在 + place is a complement telling where a result happens, not just a simple location.

For simple “do something somewhere”, think:

在学校学习 = study at school
在公司工作 = work at the company
在家休息 = rest at home

So the placement of 在家 before 休息 follows this standard pattern.

Could I say 在家里休息 instead of 在家休息? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say both:

在家休息
在家里休息

家 and 家里 are very close in meaning here:

家 = home (as a location)
家里 = inside the home / in the house

Nuance:

在家休息 – the most common, slightly simpler, very natural.
在家里休息 – emphasizes “inside the home / inside the house” a bit more, but in practice often feels the same.

In this sentence, 在家休息 is perfectly natural and probably the most typical choice.

Can I just say 休息在家? It looks like “rest at home” directly.

In normal modern Chinese, 休息在家 is not natural.

For “do something at a place”, we almost always use:

在 + place + Verb

not

Verb + 在 + place

So:

✅ 在家休息
✅ 在学校学习
✅ 在公司开会
❌ 休息在家 (sounds odd)
❌ 学习在学校 (very unnatural in normal speech)

There are some specific structures where Verb + 在 + place occurs, but for a basic sentence like “rest at home”, you should stick with 在家休息.

Is 休息 a verb or a noun here? Do I need an object like 一下?

In 在家休息, 休息 is a verb: “to rest”.

我今天想休息。= I want to rest today.

It can also function as a noun in other contexts:

我需要一点休息。= I need a bit of rest.

You can add 一下 to soften it or make it sound a bit lighter / shorter:

在家休息一下。= rest at home for a bit.

That would give:

今天我可能太累了，所以只想在家休息一下。
= I might be really tired today, so I just want to rest at home for a bit.

Both with and without 一下 are grammatical; adding it just slightly changes the feel (more casual / “for a short while”).

Why is it 累了 and not just 累?

Both can be used, but they feel different:

累 (tired) – a state: “(I am) tired.”
累了 – often implies a change of state or “already”: “(I have become) tired now.”

So:

我累。= I’m tired. (neutral description)
我累了。= I’ve gotten tired / I’m tired now (as a new state).
我太累了。= I’m so/too tired now. (stronger feeling + change-of-state flavor)

In your full sentence, 太累了 sounds very natural because:

太…了 is a very common pattern for strong emotional degree.
The 了 matches the idea that today you’ve (now) become very tired, and therefore you only want to rest.

今天我可能太累。 without 了 is not idiomatic; native speakers would almost always say 太累了 here.

Could I remove 可能? How does the meaning change?

Yes, you can remove it:

今天我太累了，所以只想在家休息。
= I’m too/so tired today, so I just want to rest at home.

With 可能:

今天我可能太累了，所以只想在家休息。
= I might be really tired today, so I just want to rest at home.

Difference:

With 可能 – you’re less certain, or you’re being softer/modest about your condition (“I’m probably too tired…”).
Without 可能 – you state it as a fact: you are very tired.

Both are natural; it depends on how sure or how strong you want the statement to be.