Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"

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You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express "too" in the sense of "too expensive." 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

Subject + 不太 + Adjective

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

Examples with adjectives

  • 不 太 高兴 。 bù tài gāoxìng. He is not too happy.
  • 不 太 漂亮 。 bù tài piàoliang. She is not too pretty.
  • 老师 不 太 友好 。 Lǎoshī bù tài yǒuhǎo. The teacher is not too friendly.
  • 北京 不 太 舒服 。 Běijīng bù tài shūfu. Beijing is not too comfortable.
  • 这 个 店 的 衣服 不 太 贵 。 Zhè gè diàn de yīfu bù tài gùi. 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.
  • 这 个 房间 不 太 大 。 Zhè gè fángjiān bù tài dà. This apartment is not too big.
  • 那 个 地方 不 太 远 。 Nà gè dìfang bù tài yuǎn. That place is not very far away.
  • 这 个 苹果 不 太 好吃 。 Zhè gè píngguǒ bù tài hǎochī. This apple is not very tasty.
  • 现在 不 太 热 。 Xiànzài bù tài rè. Today it is not too hot.

“不太” with verbs

Structure

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

Subject + 不太 + Verb

Examples with verbs

  • 不 太 懂 。 bù tài dǒng. I don't really understand.
  • 不 太希望 我们 走 。 bù tàixīwàng wǒmen zǒu. She doesn't really want us to go.
  • 不 太 相信 他 知道 。 bù tài xiāngxìn tā zhīdao. I'm not really convinced he knows.
  • 不 太 喜欢 我 的 工作 。 bù tài xǐhuān wǒ de gōngzùo. I don't really like my job.
  • 不 太 想 去 。 bù tài xiǎng qù. He doesn't really want to go.
  • 不 太 想 我 的 家人 。 bù tài xiǎng wǒ de jiārén. I don't really miss my family.
  • 不 太 认识 我 。 bù tài rènshi wǒ. She doesn't really know me.
  • 女人 不 太 关心 政治 。 Nǚrén bù tài guānxīn zhèng zhì. Women are not too concerned about politics.
  • 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.
  • 不 太 明白 你 的 意思 。 bù tài míngbai nǐ de yìsi. I don't really understand what you mean.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books