Expressing "much more" in comparisons

If you want to up the contrast of your comparisons, you might want to express "much more." You can do this using 多 (duō), but did you know there are actually three different ways to do it?

Structure

As well as expressing that two things differ, you might want to go further and say that they differ a lot by adding 很多 (hěn duō), 多了(duō le), or 得多 (de duō). This is like saying that one thing is much more Adj. than another in English.

Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj. + 很多 / 得多 / 多了

Examples

  • 拼音 汉字 容易 很多Pīnyīn Hànzì róngyì hěn duō.Pinyin is much easier than Chinese characters.
  • 坐 高铁 坐 飞机 方便 很多Zuò gāotiě zuò fēijī fāngbiàn hěn duō.It's much more convenient to take the high-speed train than the airplane.
  • 这 个 女老师 那个 男老师 严格 得 多Zhège nǚ lǎoshī nàge nán lǎoshī yángé de duō.This female teacher is much stricter than that male teacher.
  • 我 老婆 的 工资 我 高 得多Wǒ lǎopo de gōngzī wǒ gāo de duō.My wife's salary is much higher than mine.
  • 我 有经验 多了 wǒ yǒu jīngyàn duō le.You're much more experienced than me.
  • 你们 我们 幸运 多了Nǐmen wǒmen xìngyùn duō le.You're much luckier than us.
  • 他 打 篮球 我 厉害 多 了Tā dǎ lánqiú wǒ lìhai duō le.He plays basketball much better than I do.

Short Form with 多了

Given sufficient context, it's possible to use 多了 without the full comparison pattern. 多了 is the only one of the three "much more" phrases introduced in this article which can be used this way.

Subj. + Adj. + 多了

A few examples:

  • 我 的 感冒 好 多了We both know I've had this bad cold.Wǒ de gǎnmào hǎo duō le.My cold is getting much better.
  • 最近 天气 暖和 多了We're both aware of recent weather, obviously.Zuìjìn tiānqì nuǎnhuo duō le.It's been much warmer lately.
  • 上 大学 以后 ,她 成熟 多了We both know how immature she used to be.Shàng dàxué yǐhòu, tā chéngshú duō le.She became much more mature after she went to college.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books