Difference between revisions of "Basic comparisons with "bi""

Revision as of 07:39, 19 October 2011

Also known as: 比字句 (bǐzì jù).

To say that one thing is more adjective than another, the structure is:

Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adjective

This 比 (bǐ) sits between the two things being compared. The noun that's placed first is the one that comes out on top in the comparison. So in the sentence:

小李比小张高。

小李 is taller. The same situation could be described as

小张比小李矮。

Some more examples:

她比我大。
我比你胖。
美国比英国大。
这条路 比 那条 长。

Common Errors

Try not to make these mistakes:

The adjective used in the comparison should be positive, not negative.

比 is not used with 一样. 比 is used when two things are not the same.

Finally, to express "not as... as," use 没有, and to express "not more... than" use 不比 (the negative cousin of 比).

Sources and further reading

Websites

East Asia Student: Simple comparisons in Mandarin Chinese

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 比 is not used with 一样.  比 is used when two things are ''not'' the same.
-Finally, to express [Basic comparisons with "meiyou"|"not as... as," use 没有], and to express [Basic comparisons with "bu bi"|"not more... than" use 不比] (the negative cousin of 比).
+Finally, to express [[Basic comparisons with "meiyou"|"not as... as," use 没有]], and to express [[Basic comparisons with "bu bi"|"not more... than" use 不比]] (the negative cousin of 比).
 == Sources and further reading ==