Comparisons with "buru"
Revision as of 04:44, 10 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)
不如 means "not as good as", and can be used to make comparisons in a similar way as the 比 structure.
If you want to say A is not as adjective as B, the following structure can be used:
A + 不如 + B + (adjective/verb)
Here are some examples:
- 我 不如 姚明 高。
- 城市 的 生活 环境 不如 乡下 舒服。
- 他 不如 我 会 撒谎。
- 这个 语法点 不如 前面的 解释 得 清楚。
Unlike the 比 structure, the adjective or verb in this structure can be omitted, and denotes that A does not live up to, or is unequal to B.
For example:
- 这 辆 车 不如 那 辆。
- 看 电影 不如 看 电视剧。
- 浙江 人 特别 会 做 生意，连 广东 人 都不如他们！
When facing a choice, 不如 can also be used to mean "might as well" to emphasize the choice is the better of two options. When used like this, it is similar in meaning to 不妨.
For example:
- 既然 已经 做 了 一半，你 不如 坚持 下去。
- 与其 空想，不如 马上 行动，做 出 点儿 成绩。
As in the last example sentence, 不如 often occurs in the 与其...不如 structure, meaning "rather than X... might as well Y".
Sources and further reading
Books
- Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) pp.38-39
- Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (汉语口语速成基础篇) pp.80-81
- A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) pp.543-547
