Expressing "much more" in comparisons

If you want to up the intensity 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?

Basic Pattern

Structure

As well as expressing that two things differ, you might want to go further and say that they differ a lot by adding 得多 / 多了/ 很多 (dé duō / duō le / hěn 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 比 汉字 容易 很 多 。Pīnyīn bǐ Hànzì róngyì hěn duō.Pinyin is much easier than Chinese characters.
• 坐 高铁 比 坐 飞机 方便 很 多 。Zuò gāotiě bǐ zuò fēijī fāngbiàn hěn duō.It's much more convenient to take the high-speed train than the airplane.
• 他 打 篮球 比 我 厉害 多 了 。Tā dǎ lánqiú bǐ wǒ lìhai duō le.He plays basketball much better than I do.
• 这 个 老师 比 那个 老师 严格 得 多 。Zhè gè lǎoshī bǐ nàge lǎoshī yángé de duō.This teacher is much more strict than that teacher.
• 我 感觉 今天 比 昨天 好 多了 。Wǒ gǎnjué jīntiān bǐ zuótiān hǎo duō le.I feel much better today than yesterday.

Advanced Pattern

When used in a comparison, 还 expresses an even higher degree of the adjective.

Structure

Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + 还 + Adj.

Examples

• 这 家 店 比 那 家 店 还 贵 。Zhè jiā diàn bǐ nà jiā diàn hái guì.This shop is even more expensive than that one.
• 这个 月 比 上个 月 还 忙 。Zhège yuè bǐ shàng gè yuè hái máng.We're even busier this month than last month.
• 他 比 姚明 还 高 。Tā bǐ YáoMíng hái gāo.He is even taller than Yao Ming.
• 上海 的 人口 比 北京 还 多 。Shànghǎi de rénkǒu bǐ Běijīng hái duō.The population of Beijing is even bigger than Shanghai.
• 她 妈妈 比 她 还 年轻 。Her mother is even younger than her.

See also

• Expressing "a bit too"
• Basic comparisons with "bi"
• The "zui" superlative
• Basic comparisons with "bu bi"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 20) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 6- 8) →buy

Websites

• East Asia Student: Graded comparisons in Mandarin Chinese