tā běnlái xiǎng cānjiā xiàwǔ de huìyì, kěshì shēntǐ bùshūfu, zhǐhǎo huí sùshè shuìjiào.

本来 here means originally, at first, or had been intending to.

It sets up an expectation that later gets reversed:

• 她本来想参加下午的会议
  = She had originally wanted/planned to attend the afternoon meeting

A very common pattern is:

• 本来……，可是/但是……
• Originally..., but...

Also, 本来 is not the same as 原来 in many contexts.

• 本来 = originally, by original plan/nature
• 原来 = it turns out, so that’s how it is

In this sentence, 想 is best understood as wanted to or was planning/intending to.

So:

• 本来想参加下午的会议
  = had originally wanted/intended to attend the afternoon meeting

想 is often softer and more mental than 要.

Compare:

• 她想参加会议 = She wants / would like / intends to attend the meeting
• 她要参加会议 = She is going to attend the meeting / she definitely wants to attend it

Here, 本来想 sounds very natural because it describes an intention that did not happen.

参加 means to participate in or to attend an activity, event, meeting, class, competition, etc.

So:

• 参加会议 = attend a meeting
• 参加比赛 = participate in a competition
• 参加活动 = take part in an event/activity

With 会议 specifically, 参加会议 is a very standard collocation.

A small nuance:

• 参加 often suggests joining an organized activity
• For some events, English might say attend, but Chinese often still uses 参加

Here, 的 links the modifier 下午 to the noun 会议.

• 下午 = afternoon
• 会议 = meeting
• 下午的会议 = the afternoon meeting / the meeting in the afternoon

So 的 works like a linker between a descriptive phrase and a noun.

A useful way to think about it:

• 下午的会议 = the meeting of/in the afternoon

This is very common in Chinese:

• 明天的课 = tomorrow’s class
• 昨天的新闻 = yesterday’s news
• 北京的天气 = Beijing’s weather

Sometimes Chinese drops 的 in certain set phrases or more compact written expressions, but in this sentence 下午的会议 is the most natural everyday form.

Why?

Because 下午 is acting as a time modifier for 会议, and 的 clearly marks that relationship.

So for learners, the safest choice is:

• 下午的会议

Without 的, it may sound more compressed, more headline-like, or less natural depending on context.

Yes, 但是 could also be used here. Both mean but.

• 可是 = but, however
• 但是 = but, however

In many situations they are interchangeable.

A rough nuance:

• 可是 often sounds a little more conversational
• 但是 can sound a little more neutral or formal

So this sentence could also be:

• 她本来想参加下午的会议，但是身体不舒服，只好回宿舍睡觉。

Both are correct and natural.

Because in Mandarin, if the subject is already clear, it is often omitted.

The full version could be:

• 她本来想参加下午的会议，可是她身体不舒服，她只好回宿舍睡觉。

But repeating 她 three times would sound heavier and less natural. Chinese often drops repeated subjects when there is no confusion.

So the original sentence is smoother:

• 她本来想……，可是身体不舒服，只好……

The listener naturally understands that all three parts still refer to 她.

Yes, literally it is something like the body is not comfortable, but idiomatically it means:

• to feel unwell
• to not feel well
• to be under the weather

So:

• 身体不舒服 = not feeling well physically

This is a very common and natural expression.

You can also hear:

• 我不舒服。 = I don’t feel well.
• 她身体有点不舒服。 = She feels a little unwell.
• 最近身体不太舒服。 = Recently I haven’t been feeling very well.

Because 不舒服 is already a negative predicate.

In beginner Chinese, learners often see patterns like:

• 她很累。
• 天气很热。

and start to think adjectives always need 很. But they do not always.

When the adjective is negated with 不, you do not need 很:

• 她不舒服。 = She doesn’t feel well.
• 我不累。 = I’m not tired.
• 天气不冷。 = The weather isn’t cold.

So 身体不舒服 is completely normal.

只好 means to have no choice but to.

It shows that the speaker is doing something because circumstances leave no better option.

So:

• 只好回宿舍睡觉
  = had no choice but to go back to the dorm and sleep

This is stronger than simply saying so.

Compare:

• 她身体不舒服，所以回宿舍睡觉。
  = She felt unwell, so she went back to the dorm to sleep.

• 她身体不舒服，只好回宿舍睡觉。
  = She felt unwell, so she had no choice but to go back to the dorm to sleep.

只好 adds a sense of resignation or necessity.

This is a very common Mandarin structure called a serial verb construction.

• 回宿舍 = go back to the dorm
• 睡觉 = sleep

Put together:

• 回宿舍睡觉 = go back to the dorm to sleep

Chinese often places actions one after another without adding words like and then or in order to when the relationship is clear.

Other examples:

• 去图书馆学习 = go to the library to study
• 回家吃饭 = go home to eat
• 出来看看 = come out and take a look

So 回宿舍睡觉 is very natural.

They are very close, but there is a slight difference in emphasis.

• 回宿舍 = go back to the dorm
• 回到宿舍 = go back to the dorm / return and arrive at the dorm

回到 emphasizes reaching the destination a bit more.

In this sentence, 回宿舍睡觉 is shorter and very natural.
If you said 回到宿舍睡觉, it would also be correct, but slightly more explicit.

宿舍 means dormitory, residence hall, or sometimes living quarters.

It often refers to:

• a student dorm
• employee housing / staff quarters

In this sentence, it most likely means her dorm room / dormitory, especially in a school or university setting.

So:

• 回宿舍 = go back to the dorm

The structure is:

• 她 本来 想 参加 下午的会议，
• 可是 身体 不舒服，
• 只好 回宿舍 睡觉。

A natural breakdown is:

1. Original plan/intention

   • 她本来想参加下午的会议
   • She had originally wanted to attend the afternoon meeting

2. Problem / contrast

   • 可是身体不舒服
   • but she wasn’t feeling well

3. Forced result

   • 只好回宿舍睡觉
   • so she had no choice but to go back to the dorm and sleep

This is a very useful pattern to learn:

• 本来想……，可是……，只好……
• Originally wanted to..., but..., so had no choice but to...

It is natural standard Mandarin and works well in both speech and writing.

It is not extremely formal, but it is also not slangy. Expressions like these are very common:

• 本来想……
• 可是……
• 身体不舒服
• 只好……

So this sentence sounds normal in everyday conversation, school situations, and general written Chinese.