Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

Sometimes you may want to make a comparison another way. In that case, use 没有(méiyǒu).

Basic patterns

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

Noun 1 + 没有 + Noun 2 + Adjective

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

  • 小张 没有 小李 高。 Xiao Zhang is not as tall as Xiao Li.

小李 is taller. The same situation could be described as:

  • 小李 没有 小张 矮。 Xiao Li is not as short as Xiao Zhang.

Examples

  • 没有 我 胖。You are not as fat as me. (You do not have my fatness.)
  • 他们 没有 我们 酷。They are not as cool as us. (They do not have the coolness we have.)
  • 这 辆 车 没有 那 辆 快。This car is not as fast as that car. (This car does not have the speed of that other car.)

See also

Sources and further reading

Books