Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

In Chinese, there is another way to make comparisons. You can use 没有(méiyǒu) to express that something is "not as" as something else.

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 。 Xiǎo Zhāng méiyǒu Xiǎo Lǐ 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 。 Xiǎo Lǐ méiyǒu Xiǎo Zhāng ǎi. Xiao Li is not as short as Xiao Zhang.

Examples

• 你 没有 我 胖 。 Nǐ méiyǒu wǒ pàng. You are not as fat as me.
• 他们 没有 我们 酷 。 Tāmen méiyǒu wǒmen kù. They are not as cool as us.
• 火车 没有 飞机 快 。 Huǒchē méiyǒu fēijī kuài. Trains are not as fast as airplanes. (This car does not have the speed of that other car.)
• 上海 没有 北京 冷 。 Shànghǎi méiyǒu Běijīng lěng. Shanghai is not as cold as Beijing.
• 我 没有 你 聪明 。 Wǒ méiyǒu nǐ cōngming. I am not as clever as you.
• 中国 没有 美国 大 。 Zhōngguó méiyǒu Měiguó dà. China is not as big as the USA.
• 这 本 书 没有 那 本 书 有意思 。 Zhè běn shū méiyǒu nà běn shū yǒuyìsi. This book is not as interesting as that book.
• 中国 菜 没有 西餐 好吃 。 Zhōngguó cài méiyǒu xīcān hǎochī. The Chinese food is not better to eat than western style food.
• 学 中文 没有 学 英文 容易 。 Xué Zhōngwén méiyǒu xué Yīngwén róngyì. Studying Chinese is not easier than studying English.
• 住 在 东京 没有 住 在 香港 方便 。 Zhù zài Dōngjīng méiyǒu zhù zài Xiānggǎng fāngbiàn. 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