"我的女儿觉得不太舒服。"
Translation:My daughter is not feeling so well.
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Why not: my daughter isn’t feeling very comfortable. Or: my daughter is feeling very uncomfortable.
Bu tai (not too) is more of a diminution of the statement, and would not mean very (extremely). Shufu strictly speaking refers to comfort, but the expected meaning in this context would refer to health (feeling well). In a particular situation, of course, her lack of felt comfort may be the best way to translate this (We didn’t realize that this movie would contain sexually suggestive images, so we are walking out because my daughter is bushufu.)
I don't know how to explain the difference clearly, but this is my take: in short, simple sentences where the tone is often some sort of exclamation, 太 usually needs the 了 afterwards. In longer, more grammatically complex sentences where the tone is often not exclamation, but a less emotional observation, the 了does not really fit.
Rumactree, I think of Chinese as characterized by understatement, reminds me of Brits. One ubiquitous expression is 不错 (bu cuo, if I got the right cuo). Literally, this means “not wrong,” and would be translated “not bad” but it really means, and the meaning is really conveyed by translating it as “really good.” If you hit a home run, I think a Chinese person would rarely ever say “great job!” Instead, I think you would hear observers of the home run—and maybe even of a grand slam—say the equivalent of “not bad.” In that case, if I were to translate to English I might make it something like “fantastic!”
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"is not feeling so comfortable" is accepted.
"is feeling not so comfortable" isn't accepted.
Although there are some very specific circumstances when the second of your sentences might be said by a native speaker of English, it’s not a good phrase. It sounds as if you’re pausing to reflect on the right words: “is feeling ....not so comfortable”.
“Is not feeling so comfortable” is either stand alone but colloquial, or it’s describing a comparison to another time or place. So it’s been accepted but it’s also not ideal. Acceptable, not ideal.
English does this a lot: there are many ways to put the same words together and still be speaking English well. But each of the less standard phrases has a lot of baggage.
我的女儿觉得不太舒服 = my daughter is not feeling well (illness) / my daughter is feeling uncomfortable (she’s feeling awkward, or simply not comfortable)
Brian, this is almost like slang. Appropriate in some contexts, very hip, but not really standard English. Someone over 35 or 40 would probably not use that construction, which may not be de rigeur even for young speakers in five years. Can you say, valley girl lingo? If your fluency in American English includes, like, colloquialisms like that, just fine. It’s like, if you know what you’re saying and are in the right audience, fine. Go for it. But if you’re learning the language you might want to avoid trying to be so slick. And you might hear Americans use that very expression and be clearly understood. I’m curious how other American speakers respond, and how they would react if they heard someone learning the language maybe they would be so not upset by it as to poo-poo my dissection. Back at me, anyone?