Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"

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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

  • 不 太 懂。 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 tā de gōngzuò. My older brother doesn't really like his job.
  • 不 太 明白 老板 的 意思。 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

Sources and further reading

Books