Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"

You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express "too," such as when something is "too expensive" or "too hot." 不太 (bù tài) is a similar pattern for the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le).

不太 (bù tài) with Adjectives

Structure

Subj. + 不太 + Adj.

Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives. See below for more info.

Examples

• 我 家 不 太 大。Wǒ jiā bù tài dà.My house is not too big.
• 那 个 地方 不 太 远。Nàge dìfang bù tài yuǎn.That place is not very far away.
• 老板 今天 不 太 高兴。 Lǎobǎn jīntiān bù tài gāoxìng.The boss is not very happy today.
• 这 个 店 的 衣服 不 太 贵。Zhège diàn de yīfu bù tài guì. The clothes in this shop are not too expensive.
• 我 觉得 他 不 太 聪明。Wǒ juéde tā bù tài cōngming.I think he is not too smart.

不太 (bù tài) with Verbs

Structure

This pattern can be used with some psychological verbs (e.g. 喜欢 (xǐhuan), 想 (xiǎng), 明白 (míngbai)), as is the case with the next examples. These verbs are relatively limited.

Subj. + 不太 + Verb

Examples

• 我 不 太 懂。Wǒ bù tài dǒng.I don't really understand.
• 他们 不 太 想 去。 Tāmen bù tài xiǎng qù.They don't really want to go.
• 我 哥哥 不 太 喜欢 他 的 工作。Wǒ gēge bù tài xǐhuan tā de gōngzuò.My older brother doesn't really like his job.
• 他 不 太 明白 老板 的 意思。Tā bù tài míngbai lǎobǎn de yìsi. He didn't really understand what the boss meant.

See also

• Expressing "excessively" with tai

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 200) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 180-181)　→buy
• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 109) →buy