Expressing "less than" with "budao"

Basic Pattern

Structure

Subj. + 不到 + Number + [Measure Word] + Noun

Examples

• 我 女儿 不到 三 岁 。Wǒ nǚ'ér bùdào sān suì.My daughter is less than three years old.
• 我 昨天 睡 了 不到 五 个 小时 。Wǒ zuótiān shuì le bùdào wǔ gè xiǎoshí. Yesterday I slept for less than five hours.
• 这 件 衣服 花 了 不到 一 百 块 。Zhè jiàn yīfu huā le bùdào yī bǎi kuài.This piece of clothing costs less than 100 RMB.
• 我 家 到 公司 不到 五 百 米 。Wǒ jiā dào gōngsī bùdào wǔ bǎi mǐ.It is less than 500 meters from my house to the company.
• 在 美国 ，不到 21 岁 不 能 喝酒 。Zài Měiguó, bùdào èrshí-yī suì, bù néng hējiǔ.In America, people under 21 can't drink alcohol.

Advanced Pattern

Structure

"不到"放在一个时间点或者时间段前，后面跟"就"连用，表示某事发生得比一般情况要早。多用于过去。

Subj. + 不到 + Time + 就 + Predicate + 了

Examples

• 他们 认识 不到 两 个 月 就 结婚 了 。Tāmen rènshi bùdào liǎng gè yuè jiù jiéhūn le.They've known each other for less than two months and are already married.
• 李 医生 不到 55 岁 就 退休 了 。Lǐ yīshēng bùdào wǔshí-wǔ suì jiù tuìxiū le.Dr. Li is less than 55 years old and he already retired.
• 爷爷 不到 60 岁 就 去世 了 。Yéye bùdào liùshí suì jiù qùshì le.My grandpa was less than 60 years old when he died.
• 她 的 病 不到 一个 星期 就 好 了 。Tā de bìng bùdào yī gè xīngqī jiù hǎo le.It took less than one week for her to recover from her sickness.
• 老板 不到 30 岁 就 有 白 头发 了 。Lǎobǎn bùdào sānshí suì jiù yǒu bái tóufa le.My boss is less than 30 years old and already has white hair showing on his head.

See also

• Emphasizing quantity with "dou"
• Referring to "all" using "suoyou"
• Indicating a number in excess
• Indicating the whole with "quan"