Comparisons with "buru"
Revision as of 10:01, 9 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs)
不如 means "not as good as", and can be used to make comparisons in the same way as the 比 structure.
A + 不如 + B + (adjective)
Here are some examples:
- 城市 的 生活 环境 不如 乡下 舒服。
- 红茶 的 口感 不如 铁观音 清爽。
- 我 不如 姚明 高
- 浙江 人 特别 会 做 生意，连 广东 人 都不如他们！
Unlike the 比 structure, the adjective in this structure can be omitted, as in the last example sentence, to give a feeling that A does not live up to, or is unequal to B.
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".
我的口语不如他的
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
