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 很多 (hěn duō), 多了(duō le), or 得多 (de duō). This is like saying that one thing is much more Adj. than another in English.

Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj. + 很多 / 多了 / 得多

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

• 他 比 姚明 还 高 。Tā bǐ YáoMíng hái gāo.He is even taller than Yao Ming.
• 这个 牌子 比 那个 牌子 还 贵 。Zhège páizi bǐ nàge páizi hái guì.This brandname is even more expensive than that one.
• 你 比 老板 还 忙 ？Nǐ bǐ lǎobǎn hái máng?You're even busier than the boss?
• 上海 的 人口 比 北京 还 多 。Shànghǎi de rénkǒu bǐ Běijīng hái duō.The population of Shanghai is even bigger than Beijing.
• 她 妈妈 比 她 还 年轻 。Tā māma bǐ tā hái niánqīng.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) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 6- 8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Websites

• East Asia Student: Graded comparisons in Mandarin Chinese