Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"

You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express "too." For example, when something is "too expensive" or "too hot." 不太 (bù tài) is a similar pattern for the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le).

“不太” with adjectives

Structure

Subj. + 不太 + Adj.

Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives. See below for more info.

Examples

• 我 家 不 太 大 。 Wǒjiā bù tài dà. My house is not too big.
• 那 个 地方 不 太 远 。 Nà ge dìfang bù tài yuǎn. That place is not very far away.
• 老板 今天 不 太 高兴 。 Lǎobǎn jīntiān bù tài gāoxìng. The boss is not very happy today.
• 这 个 店 的 衣服 不 太 贵 。 Zhè ge diàn de yīfu bù tài guì. The clothes in this shop are not too expensive.
• 我 觉得 他 不 太 聪明 。 Wǒ juéde tā bù tài cōngming. I think he is not too clever.

“不太” with verbs

Structure

This pattern can be used with some psychological verbs (e.g. 喜欢 (xǐhuan), 想 (xiǎng), 明白 (míngbai)), as in the next two examples. These verbs are relatively limited.

Subj. + 不太 + Verb

Examples

• 我 不 太 懂 。 Wǒ bù tài dǒng. I don't really understand.
• 他们 不 太 想 去 。 Tāmen bù tài xiǎng qù. They don't really want to go.
• 我哥哥 不 太 喜欢 他 的 工作 。 Wǒgēge bù tài xǐhuan wǒ de gōngzuò. My elder brother doesn't really like his job.
• 他 不 太 明白 老板 的 意思。 Tā bù tài míngbai lǎobǎn de yìsi. He didn't really understand what the boss meant.
• 我 觉得 你 不 太 了解 我们 公司 。 Wǒ juéde nǐ bù tài liǎojiě wǒmen gōngsī. I think that you don't really understand our company.

See also

• Expressing "excessively" with tai

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 200) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 180-181)　→buy
• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 109) →buy