Difference between revisions of "Basic comparisons with "meiyou""

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* 他 <em>没有</em> 他弟弟 聪明。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>méiyǒu</em> tā dìdi cōngming. </span> <span class="trans">He's not as clever as his younger brother. </span>
 
* 他 <em>没有</em> 他弟弟 聪明。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>méiyǒu</em> tā dìdi cōngming. </span> <span class="trans">He's not as clever as his younger brother. </span>
 
* Obama <em>没有</em> Clinton 帅。 <span class="pinyin">Obama <em>méiyǒu</em> Clinton shuài. </span> <span class="trans">Obama is not as handsome as Clinton. </span>
 
* Obama <em>没有</em> Clinton 帅。 <span class="pinyin">Obama <em>méiyǒu</em> Clinton shuài. </span> <span class="trans">Obama is not as handsome as Clinton. </span>
* 马云 <em>没有</em> Bill Gates 有钱。 <span class="pinyin">Mǎyún <em>méiyǒu</em> Bill Gates yǒuqián. </span> <span class="trans">Jack Ma is not as rich as Bill Gates. </span>
+
* 马云 <em>没有</em> Bill Gates 有钱。 <span class="pinyin">Mǎyún <em>méiyǒu</em> Bill Gates yǒuqián. </span> <span class="trans">Jack Ma is not as rich as Bill Gates. </span>
 
* 你们 公司 <em>没有</em> 我们公司 大。 <span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen gōngsī <em>méiyǒu</em> wǒmen gōngsī dà. </span> <span class="trans"> Your company is not as big as ours. </span>
 
* 你们 公司 <em>没有</em> 我们公司 大。 <span class="pinyin"> Nǐmen gōngsī <em>méiyǒu</em> wǒmen gōngsī dà. </span> <span class="trans"> Your company is not as big as ours. </span>
 
* 拼音 <em>没有</em> 汉字 难。 <span class="pinyin">Pīnyīn <em>méiyǒu</em> hànzì nán. </span> <span class="trans">Pinyin is not as difficult as Chinese characters. </span>
 
* 拼音 <em>没有</em> 汉字 难。 <span class="pinyin">Pīnyīn <em>méiyǒu</em> hànzì nán. </span> <span class="trans">Pinyin is not as difficult as Chinese characters. </span>

Revision as of 08:39, 16 February 2016

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 (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

  • 这 个 地方 没有 上海 好玩。 Zhè ge dìfang méiyǒu Shànghǎi hǎowán. This place is not as fun as Shanghai.
  • 火车 没有 飞机 快。 Huǒchē méiyǒu fēijī kuài. Trains are not as fast as airplanes.
  • 没有 他弟弟 聪明。 méiyǒu tā dìdi cōngming. He's not as clever as his younger brother.
  • Obama 没有 Clinton 帅。 Obama méiyǒu Clinton shuài. Obama is not as handsome as Clinton.
  • 马云 没有 Bill Gates 有钱。 Mǎyún méiyǒu Bill Gates yǒuqián. Jack Ma is not as rich as Bill Gates.
  • 你们 公司 没有 我们公司 大。 Nǐmen gōngsī méiyǒu wǒmen gōngsī dà. Your company is not as big as ours.
  • 拼音 没有 汉字 难。 Pīnyīn méiyǒu hànzì nán. Pinyin is not as difficult as Chinese characters.
  • 坐 公交车 没有 坐地铁 方便。 Zuò gōngjiāochē méiyǒu zuò dìtiě fāngbiàn. Taking the bus is not as convenient as taking the metro.
  • 小米 手机 没有 iPhone 贵。 Xiǎomǐ shǒujī méiyǒu iPhone guì. The Xiaomi phone is not as expensive as the iPhone.
  • 爸爸 做的 菜 没有 妈妈 做的菜 好吃。Bàba zuò de cài méiyǒu māma zuò de cài hǎochī. The food dad cooks is not as tasty as the food mom cooks.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books