One of the most common words when comparing things in Chinese is to use
比 (bǐ). 比 (bǐ) has
similarities to the English word "than," but it requires a word
order that's not so intuitive, so you'll want to practice it quite
a bit.
Basic Usage
You could think of 比 (bǐ) as meaning "than," except that it sits
between the two things being compared. The word order will take a little getting used to,
but aside from that, the pattern is quite easy.
Structure
To say that one thing is more adjective than another,
the structure is:
Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj.
The noun that's placed first is the one that comes out on top in
the comparison. So in the sentence:
- 小李 比 小张 高 。Xiǎo
Lǐ bǐ Xiǎo Zhāng gāo .Xiao Li is taller than Xiao Zhang.
小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is taller. The same situation could be described
as
- 小张 比 小李 矮 。Xiǎo
Zhāng bǐ Xiǎo Lǐ ǎi .Xiao Zhang is shorter than Xiao Li.
Examples
- 他 比 老师 聪明 。Tā
bǐ lǎoshī cōngming.He is smarter than the teacher.
- 上海 比 纽约 大 吗 ？Shànghǎi bǐ Niǔyuē dà ma?
Is Shanghai bigger than New York?
- 她 比 她 妈妈 漂亮 。Tā
bǐ tā māma piàoliang .She is prettier than her mother.
- 星巴克 的 咖啡 比 这里 的 咖啡 贵 。Xīngbākè de kāfēi bǐ zhèlǐ de kāfēi
guì.The coffee at
Starbucks is more expensive than the coffee here.
- 地铁 比 公交车 方便 。Dìtiě bǐ gōngjiāochē
fāngbiàn.The subway is
more convenient than the bus.
Common Errors
Try not to make these mistakes:
The adjective used in the comparison should be positive, not
negative.
- 我 比 你 不 聪明 。Wǒ
bǐ nǐ bù cōngming .
- 你 比 我 聪明 。Nǐ
bǐ wǒ cōngming .You are smarter than me.
比 (bǐ) is not used with 一样 (yīyàng). 比 (bǐ) is used when two
things are not the same.
- 我 比 你 一样 聪明 。Wǒ
bǐ nǐ yīyàng cōngming.
- 我 跟 你 一样 聪明 。Wǒ gēn nǐ yīyàng
cōngming.I am as smart as
you.
Pattern Using 比 (bǐ) and 更
(gèng)
This is a slight upgrade of the basic 比 (bǐ) comparison pattern,
adding in 更 (gèng) before the adjective. 更 (gèng) means "even
more," so the idea is that while one thing is already quite
[adjective], this other thing is even
more [adjective]. Pretty simple!
Structure
Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + 更 + Adj.
The only new thing here is the addition of 更 (gèng) before the
adjective.
- 小李 比 小张 更 高 。Xiǎo Lǐ bǐ Xiǎo Zhāng gèng gāo
.Xiao Li is even taller than Xiao
Zhang.
The implication is that while Xiao Zhang is tall, 小李
(Xiǎo Lǐ) is even taller.
Examples
- 我 哥哥 比 我 更 高 。Wǒ
gēge bǐ wǒ gèng gāo.My big brother is even taller than me.
- 你 男朋友 比 我男朋友 更 帅 。Nǐ nánpéngyou bǐ wǒ nánpéngyou gèng
shuài.Your boyfriend is even
more handsome than mine.
- 这里 的 冬天 比 纽约 的 冬天 更 冷 。Zhèlǐ de dōngtiān bǐ Niǔyuē de dōngtiān
gèng lěng.The winter
here is even colder than it is in New York.
- 中文 语法 比 汉字 更 好玩 。Zhōngwén yǔfǎ bǐ Hànzì gèng
hǎowán.Chinese grammar is even
more fun than Chinese characters.
- 你的 问题 比 我的 问题 更 麻烦。Nǐ de wèntí bǐ wǒ de wèntí gèng
máfan.Your problem is even more
troublesome than mine.
See Also
Check these other comparison patterns out as well:
Sources and further
reading
Books
Websites
Category:A2 grammar points Category:Comparison