我女儿还不到三岁。 Wǒ nǚ’ér hái bùdào sān suì.
My daughter is still 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 hē jiǔ.
In America, people less than 21 years old cannot drink alcohol.

Using 不到 with 就

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。

Examples

他们认识不到两个月就结婚了。 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 岁就退休了。 Lǐ yīshēng bùdào wǔshí-wǔ suìjiù tuìxiū le.
Dr. Li is less than 55 years old and he already retired.
爷爷不到 60 岁就去世了。 Yéye bùdào liùshí suì jiù qùshì le.
My grandpa was less than 60 years old when he died.
你回家住了不到一个星期就要走了？ Nǐ huíjiā zhù le bùdào yī gè xīngqī jiù yào zǒu le?
You went to live at home and moved out in less than a week?
老板不到 30 岁就有白头发了。 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.

Contents

Basic Usage