Expressing "much more" in comparisons

Level

B1 / HSK2 and HSK3
Level

B1
Level

HSK2, HSK3
Similar to
- Basic comparisons with "bi" (A2)
- Expressing "a little too" with "you dian" (A2)
- Expressing "compared with" using "gen" (B1)
- Expressing "rather" with "bijiao" (B1)
- Basic comparisons with "bu bi" (B2)
- Expressing "a bit too" (B2)
Similar to
- Basic comparisons with "bi" (HSK2)
- Expressing "a little too" with "you dian" (HSK2)
- Expressing "compared with" using "gen" (HSK3)
- Expressing "rather" with "bijiao" (HSK3)
- Basic comparisons with "bu bi" (HSK5)
- Expressing "a bit too" (HSK5)
Used for

Comparing, Adding more explanation, Expressing quality
Keywords

多, 比, 得多, 多了

If you want to up the intensity of your comparisons, you might want to express "much more." You can do this using 多 (duō), but did you know there are actually three different ways to do it?

Structure

As well as expressing that two things differ, you might want to go further and say that they differ a lot by adding 很多 (hěn duō), 多了(duō le), or 得多 (de duō). This is like saying that one thing is much more Adj. than another in English.

Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj. + 很多 / 得多 / 多了

Examples

拼音比汉字容易很多。Pīnyīn bǐ Hànzì róngyì hěn duō.Pinyin is much easier than Chinese characters.
坐高铁比坐飞机方便很多。Zuò gāotiě bǐ zuò fēijī fāngbiàn hěn duō.It's much more convenient to take the high-speed train than the airplane.
这个女老师比那个男老师严格 得多 。Zhège nǚ lǎoshī bǐ nàge nán lǎoshī yángé de duō.This female teacher is much more strict than that male teacher.
我老婆的工资比我高得多。Wǒ lǎopo de gōngzī bǐ wǒ gāo de duō.My wife's salary is much higher than mine.
你比我有经验多了。Nǐ bǐ wǒ yǒu jīngyàn duō le.You're much more experienced than me.
你们比我们幸运多了。Nǐmen bǐ wǒmen xìngyùn duō le.You're much luckier than us.
他打篮球比我厉害 多了 。Tā dǎ lánqiú bǐ wǒ lìhai duō le.He plays basketball much better than I do.

Short Form with 多了

Given sufficient context, it's possible to use 多了 without the full comparison pattern. 多了 is the only one of the three "much more" phrases introduced in this article which can be used this way.

Subj. + Adj. + 多了

A few examples:

我的感冒好多了。We both know I've had this bad cold.Wǒ de gǎnmào hǎo duō le.My cold is getting much better.
最近天气暖和多了。We're both aware of recent weather, obviously.Zuìjìn tiānqì nuǎnhuo duō le.It's been much warmer lately.
上大学以后，她成熟多了。We both know how immature she used to be.Shàng dàxué yǐhòu, tā chéngshú duō le.She became much more mature after she went to college.

Sources and further reading

Books