Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

As well as with 比, you can also use 没有 (méiyǒu) to make basic comparisons. You could think of 没有 as the opposite of 比 - 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 being like 比 in reverse). So in the sentence:

• 小张 没有 小李 高。 (Xiao Zhang is not as tall as Xiao Li.)

小李 is taller. The same situation could be described as:

• 小李 没有 小张 矮。 (Xiao Li is not as short as Xiao Zhang.)

Some more examples:

• 你 没有 我 胖。
• 他们 没有 我们 酷。
• 这 辆 车 没有 那 辆 快。

See also

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

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 33-4) →buy