Basic comparisons with "meiyou"

In Chinese, there is another way to make comparisons. You can use 没有 (méiyǒu) to express that something is "not as" adjective as something else. (Yes, that's the same 没有 (méiyǒu) that means "not have," used here in a different way.)

Basic Usage

As well as with 比 (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...":

In this structure, the noun that's placed first is less "adjective" than the second noun, making 没有 (méiyǒu) the opposite of 比 (bǐ) for comparison purposes. 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。
Zhège 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.
他没有他弟弟聪明。
Tā méiyǒu tā dìdi cōngming.
He's not as smart as his younger brother.
Clinton 没有 Obama 帅。
Clinton méiyǒu Obama shuài.
Clinton is not as handsome as Obama.
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.

Basic comparisons with "meiyou" "没有"

Basic Usage

Examples

See also

Sources and further reading

Books