Не то чтобы я устал, но сегодня мне хочется меньше говорить и больше слушать.

It’s a very common Russian pattern meaning something like:

• It’s not exactly that...
• It’s not that...
• Not that... but...

So Не то чтобы я устал, но... means the speaker is softening the statement. They are saying:

• I’m not exactly tired, but...
• It’s not really that I’m tired, but...

This structure often introduces a correction or a more accurate explanation.

A useful pattern to remember is:

Не то чтобы X, но Y.
= Not exactly X, but rather Y / but the real point is Y.

Устал is the past tense of устать (to get tired / to become tired), but in Russian it is also very commonly used to mean I am tired in the current state.

So:

• Я устал = I’m tired
• literally: I got tired

Russian often uses a past-tense verb where English uses an adjective.

Уставший is an adjective/participle meaning tired or having become tired, but it is less natural here.

Compare:

• Я устал. = normal, idiomatic: I’m tired.
• Я уставший. = possible in some contexts, but less neutral and less common here.

So я устал is the standard choice.

This is an important difference in tone.

• Я хочу = I want
• Мне хочется = I feel like / I have the urge to / I’d like to

In this sentence, мне хочется sounds softer, more mood-based, and more natural for a temporary feeling.

So:

• Я хочу меньше говорить... = more direct: I want to talk less...
• Мне хочется меньше говорить... = I feel like talking less...

The second one fits the sentence better because the speaker is describing an inner mood today, not a firm decision or desire.

Because хочется is used in an impersonal construction.

Russian often expresses feelings, states, or urges with the person in the dative:

• Мне холодно. = I’m cold.
• Мне грустно. = I’m sad.
• Мне хочется спать. = I feel like sleeping.

So in:

мне хочется меньше говорить и больше слушать

the literal structure is closer to:

• To me, it is desirable / it feels like...
• more naturally: I feel like talking less and listening more.

That is why it is мне, not я.

Yes. Хочется comes from хотеться, which is related to хотеть.

• хотеть = to want
• хотеться = to feel like / to want in an impersonal, more spontaneous way

Examples:

• Я хочу кофе. = I want coffee.
• Мне хочется кофе. = I feel like having coffee.

The -ся form often helps create this more impersonal meaning.

So хочется here is not just plain want. It suggests a passing inclination or mood.

Because after хочется, Russian normally uses the infinitive to say what someone feels like doing.

Pattern:

мне хочется + infinitive

Examples:

• Мне хочется спать. = I feel like sleeping.
• Мне хочется уйти. = I feel like leaving.
• Мне хочется меньше говорить и больше слушать. = I feel like talking less and listening more.

So the infinitives говорить and слушать are completely expected here.

Because with verbs, Russian commonly uses меньше (less) and больше (more) as adverbs.

So:

• меньше говорить = to talk less
• больше слушать = to listen more

This is very natural and works much like English adverbs.

Russian also has более and менее, but those are more formal and are used differently. In everyday speech, with verbs like this, больше / меньше is the normal choice.

Because the sentence has a contrast:

• Not that I’m tired, but...
• It’s not exactly that I’m tired, but...

The speaker first rejects or softens one possible explanation (I’m tired) and then gives the real point:

• today I feel like talking less and listening more

This X, but Y structure is very common with Не то чтобы.

Usually it feels incomplete by itself. It normally expects some follow-up.

For example:

• Не то чтобы я устал, но мне нужен перерыв.
• Не то чтобы мне не понравилось, просто это было странно.
• Не то чтобы он виноват, но он мог помочь.

So Не то чтобы... often sets up a nuance, correction, or partial denial. It usually leads into another clause that explains the real situation.

Yes, the word order could change, because Russian word order is flexible.

The given sentence:

Не то чтобы я устал, но сегодня мне хочется меньше говорить и больше слушать.

puts сегодня early, which highlights today as the relevant time frame.

Other possible orders:

• ...но мне сегодня хочется меньше говорить...
• ...но хочется мне сегодня меньше говорить... (less neutral)
• ...но сегодня хочется меньше говорить... (if the subject is understood from context)

The original word order is natural and clear. It emphasizes that this is how the speaker feels today, not necessarily in general.

Because не то чтобы works here as a fixed expression introducing the clause.

The sentence is punctuated like this:

Не то чтобы я устал, но сегодня мне хочется меньше говорить и больше слушать.

The important comma is the one before но, because it separates the two parts of the sentence.

For a learner, it is best to remember Не то чтобы... но... as a set pattern with the comma before но.

Yes, but the nuance would change a little.

• говорить = to speak / to talk
• разговаривать = to converse / to have a conversation

In this sentence:

• меньше говорить sounds broad and natural: talk less
• меньше разговаривать would focus more on conversing specifically

So the original version is simpler and more general. It matches the contrast with слушать very well:

• talk less, listen more

It is neutral and very natural. It works well in everyday speech and writing.

It doesn’t sound slangy, but it also doesn’t sound stiff or overly formal. The phrase Не то чтобы... но... is common in normal conversation, and мне хочется is also very natural.

So this is the kind of sentence a native speaker could easily say in regular life.

It sounds thoughtful, gentle, and slightly introspective.

The speaker is not saying:

• Leave me alone
• I don’t want to talk

Instead, they are expressing a mild mood:

• I’m not exactly tired, but today I feel like being quieter
• I’d rather listen than talk today

So the tone is soft and reflective, not rude or abrupt. That soft tone comes especially from:

• Не то чтобы... = softens the explanation
• мне хочется... = describes a temporary feeling rather than a blunt decision