Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

In Chinese, there is another way to make comparisons. You can use 没有(méiyǒu) to express that something is "not as" as something else.

Basic pattern

As well as with 比 (bǐ), you can also use 没有 (méiyǒu) to make basic comparisons. You could think of 没有 (méiyǒu) as the opposite of 比 (bǐ) - it works in the same way, but rather than expressing "more... than..." it expresses "not as... as...":

Noun 1 + 没有 + Noun 2 + Adj.

In this structure, the noun that's placed first is less "adjective" than the second noun (hence 没有 (méiyǒu) being like 比 (bǐ) in reverse). So in the sentence:

• 小张 没有 小李 高 。 Xiǎo Zhāng méiyǒu Xiǎo Lǐ gāo. Xiao Zhang is not as tall as Xiao Li.

小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is taller. The same situation could be described as:

• 小李 没有 小张 矮 。 Xiǎo Lǐ méiyǒu Xiǎo Zhāng ǎi. Xiao Li is not as short as Xiao Zhang.

Examples

• 上海 没有 北京 冷 。 Shànghǎi méiyǒu Běijīng lěng. Shanghai is not as cold as Beijing.
• 火车 没有 飞机 快 。 Huǒchē méiyǒu fēijī kuài. Trains are not as fast as airplanes. (This car does not have the speed of that other car.)
• 他 没有 他弟弟 聪明 。 Tā méiyǒu tādìdi cōngming. He's not as clever as his younger brother.
• 你们 学校 没有 我们学校 远。 Zhōngguó méiyǒu Měiguó dà. China is not as big as the USA.
• 马云 没有 Bill Gates 有钱。 Mǎyún méiyǒu Bill Gates yǒuqián. Jack Ma is not as rich as Bill Gates.
• 学 英文 没有 学 中文 难 。 Xué Zhōngwén méiyǒu xué Yīngwén róngyì. Studying Chinese is not easier than studying English.
• 坐 公交车 没有 坐地铁 方便 。 Zhù zài Dōngjīng méiyǒu zhù zài Xiānggǎng fāngbiàn. Living in Tokyo is not more convenient than living in Hong Kong.

See also

• Basic comparisons with "bi"
• Basic comparisons with "bu bi"
• Comparisons with "buru"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 69- 71) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 54-5) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 33-4) →buy