Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

Sometimes you may want to make a comparison another way. In that case, use 没有(méiyǒu).

Basic pattern

As well as with 比 (bǐ), you can also use 没有 (méiyǒu) to make basic comparisons. You could think of 没有 (méiyǒu) as the opposite of 比 (bǐ) - it works in the same way, but rather than expressing "more... than..." it expresses "not as... as...":

Noun 1 + 没有 + Noun 2 + Adjective

In this structure, the noun that's placed first is less "adjective" than the second noun (hence 没有 (méiyǒu) being like 比 (bǐ) in reverse). So in the sentence:

• 小张 没有 小李 高 。 Xiǎozhāng méiyǒu XiǎoLǐ gāo. Xiao Zhang is not as tall as Xiao Li.

小李 (Xiǎo lǐ) is taller. The same situation could be described as:

• 小李 没有 小张 矮 。 Xiǎolǐ méiyǒu XiǎoZhāng ǎi. Xiao Li is not as short as Xiao Zhang.

Examples

• 你 没有 我 胖。You are not as fat as me. (You do not have my fatness.）
• 他们 没有 我们 酷。They are not as cool as us. (They do not have the coolness we have.)
• 火车 没有 飞机 快。Train is not as fast airplane. (This car does not have the speed of that other car.)
• 上海 没有 北京 冷。Shanghai is not as cold as Beijing.
• 我 没有 你 聪明。I am not as clever as you.
• 中国 没有 美国 大。 China is not as big as the USA.
• 这 本 书 没有 那 本 书 有意思。This book is not as interesting as that book.
• 中国 菜 没有 西餐 好吃。The Chinese food is not better to eat than western style food.
• 学 中文 没有 学 英文 容易。Studying Chinese is not easier than studying English.
• 住 在 东京 没有 住 在 香港 方便。Living in Tokyo is not more convenient than living in Hong Kong.

See also

• Basic comparisons with "bi"
• Basic comparisons with "bu bi"
• Comparisons with "buru"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 69- 71) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 54-5) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 33-4) →buy