You may be familiar with using [太 (tài) to express
"too,"](Expressing_"excessively"_with_tai "wikilink") such as when
something is "too expensive" or "too hot." 不太 (bù tài) is a similar
pattern for the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so"
(literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了
(le).

不太 (bù tài) with Adjectives
-----------------------------

### Structure

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 不太 + Adj.

</div>
Note: This pattern can also be used with non-adjectives. See below for
more info.

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   我 家 <em>不 太</em> 大。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiā <em>bù tài</em>
    dà.</span><span class="trans">My house is not too big.</span>
-   那 个 地方 <em>不 太</em> 远。<span class="pinyin">Nàge dìfang
    <em>bù tài</em> yuǎn.</span><span class="trans">That place is not
    very far away.</span>
-   老板 今天 <em>不 太</em> 高兴。<span class="pinyin"> Lǎobǎn jīntiān
    <em>bù tài</em> gāoxìng.</span><span class="trans">The boss is not
    very happy today.</span>
-   这 个 店 的 衣服 <em>不 太</em> 贵。<span class="pinyin">Zhège diàn
    de yīfu <em>bù tài</em> guì. </span><span class="trans">The clothes
    in this shop are not too expensive.</span>
-   我 觉得 他 <em>不 太</em> 聪明。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ juéde tā
    <em>bù tài</em> cōngming.</span><span class="trans">I think he is
    not too smart.</span>

</div>
不太 (bù tài) with Verbs
------------------------

### Structure

This pattern can be used with some [psychological
verbs](psychological_verb "wikilink") (e.g. 喜欢 (xǐhuan), 想 (xiǎng),
明白 (míngbai)), as is the case with the next examples. These verbs are
relatively limited.

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 不太 + Verb

</div>
### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   我 <em>不 太</em> 懂 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bù tài</em>
    dǒng.</span><span class="trans">I don't really understand.</span>
-   我 <em>不 太</em> 会 说 英语 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bù
    tài</em> huì shuō Yīngyǔ.</span><span class="trans">I can't really
    speak English.</span>
-   他们 <em>不 太</em> 想 去 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>bù
    tài</em> xiǎng qù.</span><span class="trans">They don't really want
    to go.</span>
-   我 哥哥 <em>不 太</em> 喜欢 他 的 工作 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    gēge <em>bù tài</em> xǐhuan tā de
    gōngzuò.</span><span class="trans">My older brother doesn't really
    like his job.</span>
-   他 <em>不 太</em> 明白 老板 的 意思 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bù
    tài</em> míngbai lǎobǎn de yìsi. </span><span class="trans">He
    didn't really understand what the boss meant.</span>

</div>
See also
--------

-   [Expressing "excessively" with
    tai](Expressing_"excessively"_with_tai "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (pp.
    200)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615)
-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part
    1](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1 "wikilink") (pp.
    180-181)　[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385)
-   [A Practical Chinese Grammar For
    Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)](A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(外国人实用汉语语法) "wikilink") (pp.
    109)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")
<Category:Adverbs>