Expressing "less than" with "budao"

Basic Pattern

Structure

Subj. + 不到 + Number + [Measure Word] + Noun

Examples

  • 我 女儿 不到 三 岁 。Wǒ nǚ'ér bùdào sān suì.My daughter is less than three years old.
  • 我 昨天 睡 了 不到 五 个 小时 。Wǒ zuótiān shuì le bùdào wǔ gè xiǎoshí. Yesterday I slept for less than five hours.
  • 这 件 衣服 花 了 不到 一 百 块 。Zhè jiàn yīfu huā le bùdào yī bǎi kuài.This piece of clothing costs less than 100 RMB.
  • 我 家 到 公司 不到 五 百 米 。Wǒ jiā dào gōngsī bùdào wǔ bǎi mǐ.It is less than 500 meters from my house to the company.
  • 在 美国 ,不到 21 岁 不 能 喝酒 。Zài Měiguó, bùdào èrshí-yī suì, bù néng hējiǔ.In America, people under 21 can't drink alcohol.

Advanced Pattern

Structure

"不到"放在一个时间点或者时间段前,后面跟"就"连用,表示某事发生得比一般情况要早。多用于过去。

Subj. + 不到 + Time + 就 + Predicate + 了

Examples

  • 她 的 病 不到 一个 星期 Tā de bìng bùdào yī gè xīngqī jiù hǎo le.It took less than one week for her to recover from her sickness.
  • 他们 认识 不到 两 个 月 结婚 Tāmen rènshi bùdào liǎng gè yuè jiù jiéhūn le.They've known each other for less than two months and are already married.
  • 李 医生 不到 55 岁 退休 Lǐ yīshēng bùdào wǔshí-wǔ suì jiù tuìxiū le.Dr. Li is less than 55 years old and he already retired.
  • 爷爷 不到 60 岁 去世 Yéye bùdào liùshí suì jiù qùshì le.My grandpa was less than 60 years old when he died.
  • 老板 不到 30 岁 有 白 头发 Lǎobǎn bùdào sānshí suì jiù yǒu bái tóufa le.My boss is less than 30 years old and already has white hair showing on his head.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books