Defining upper and lower limits

To specify "more than" or "less than" a certain amount, or "within" a certain amount, you're going to want to use some of these common words: 以上 (yǐshàng), 以下 (yǐxià), 以内 (yǐnèi), and 以外 (yǐwài). All are "nouns of locality," or 方位词 in Chinese.

以上 and 以下

以上 and 以下 mean "more than"/"above" and "less than"/"below," respectively. Generally they are non-inclusive, meaning that when you say 十岁以下 you mean "less than ten years of age," up to ten, but not including ten years old. In actual usage, however, this fine point may sometimes be fudged a little.

Structure

Amount / Level + 以上 / 以下

Examples

• 十 岁 以下 的 孩子 不用 买 票 。Shí suì yǐxià de háizi bùyòng mǎi piào.Children under the age of 10 do not need to buy tickets.
• 我们 需要 有 两 年 以上 工作 经验 的 人 。Wǒmen xūyào yǒu liǎng nián yǐshàng gōngzuò jīngyàn de rén.We need people with two years of working experience or more.
• 我 老家 空气 还 不错，PM2.5 一般 在 五十 以下 。Wǒ lǎojiā kōngqì hái bùcuò, PM èr diǎn wǔ yībān zài wǔshí yǐxià.The air in my hometown is good. The PM 2.5 level is generally under 50.
• 这里 的 冬天 气温 都 在 零度 以下 。Zhèlǐ de dōngtiān qìwēn dōu zài língdù yǐxià.The winter temperatures here go below zero.
• 我们 出差 都 住 三 星级 以上 的 酒店。This could possibly be inclusive of 3-star hotels. Real-world usage is sometimes imprecise!Wǒmen chūchāi dōu zhù sān xīngjí yǐshàng de jiǔdiàn.When we go on business trips, we stay at hotels with above a 3-star rating.
• 以下 就 谈谈 这个 问题 应该 怎么 解决。This could be written or spoken.Yǐxià jiù tántán zhège wèntí yīnggāi zěnme jiějué.Following, we will discuss how we should resolve this problem.
• 以上 只 是 我 个人 的 看法 。This could be written or spoken.Yǐshàng zhī shì wǒ gèrén de kànfǎ.The above is just my personal opinion.

以内 and 以外

Literally, 以内 and 以外 mean "within" and "outside." This spatial meaning can be extended to all kinds of abstracted meanings, as you will see below. Note that 以外 often combines with 除了.

Structure

[Amount / Time / Place / Scope] + 以内 / 以外

Examples

• 两 天 以内 必须 完成 。Liǎng tiān yǐnèi bìxū wánchéng.Must be completed within two days.
• 半 小时 以内 能 送到 吗 ？Bàn xiǎoshí yǐnèi néng sòng dào ma?Can you deliver in 30 minutes or less?
• 这个 大楼 50 米 以内 不 能 停车 。Zhège dàlóu wǔshí mǐ yǐnèi bù néng tíng chē.You cannot park within 50 meters of this building.
• 请 你 站 在 两 米 以外 的 地方 。Qǐng nǐ zhàn zài liǎng mǐ yǐwài de dìfang.Please stand 2 meters or more from this place.

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5