One of the most common words when [comparing](comparing "wikilink")
things in Chinese is to use [比 (bǐ)](比 "wikilink"). 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](word_order "wikilink") 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:

<div class="jiegou">
Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj.

</div>
The noun that's placed first is the one that comes out on top in the
comparison. So in the sentence:

<div class="liju">
-   小李 <em>比</em> 小张 <strong>高</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Lǐ <em>bǐ</em> Xiǎo Zhāng <strong>gāo
    </strong>.</span><span class="trans">Xiao Li is taller than Xiao
    Zhang.</span>

</div>
小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is taller. The same situation could be described as

<div class="liju">
-   小张 <em>比</em> 小李 <strong>矮</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Zhāng <em>bǐ</em> Xiǎo Lǐ <strong>ǎi
    </strong>.</span><span class="trans">Xiao Zhang is shorter than Xiao
    Li.</span>

</div>
### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   他 <em>比</em> 老师 <strong>聪明</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā
    <em>bǐ</em> lǎoshī
    <strong>cōngming</strong>.</span><span class="trans">He is smarter
    than the teacher.</span>
-   上海 <em>比</em> 纽约 <strong>大</strong> 吗
    ？<span class="pinyin">Shànghǎi <em>bǐ</em> Niǔyuē
    <strong>dà</strong> ma? </span><span class="trans">Is Shanghai
    bigger than New York?</span>
-   她 <em>比</em> 她 妈妈 <strong>漂亮</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bǐ</em> tā māma <strong> piàoliang
    </strong>.</span><span class="trans">She is prettier than her
    mother.</span>
-   星巴克 的 咖啡 <em>比</em> 这里 的 咖啡 <strong>贵</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Xīngbākè de kāfēi <em>bǐ</em> zhèlǐ de kāfēi
    <strong>guì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">The coffee at
    Starbucks is more expensive than the coffee here.</span>
-   地铁 <em>比</em> 公交车 <strong>方便</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Dìtiě <em>bǐ</em> gōngjiāochē
    <strong>fāngbiàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">The subway is
    more convenient than the bus. </span>

</div>
Common Errors
-------------

Try not to make these mistakes:

The adjective used in the comparison should be positive, not negative.

<div class="liju">
-   我 <em>比</em> 你 <strong>不 聪明</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    <em>bǐ</em> nǐ <strong>bù cōngming </strong>.</span>
-   你 <em>比</em> 我 <strong>聪明</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <em>bǐ</em> wǒ <strong>cōngming
    </strong>.</span><span class="trans">You are smarter than me.</span>

</div>
比 (bǐ) is not used with 一样 (yīyàng). 比 (bǐ) is used when two things
are *not* the same.

<div class="liju">
-   我 <em>比</em> 你 <strong>一样</strong> 聪明
    。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bǐ</em> nǐ <strong>yīyàng</strong>
    cōngming.</span>
-   我 <strong>跟</strong> 你 <strong>一样</strong> 聪明
    。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>gēn</strong> nǐ
    <strong>yīyàng</strong> cōngming.</span><span class="trans">I am as
    smart as you.</span>

</div>
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](Expressing_"even_more"_with_"geng" "wikilink"). 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

<div class="jiegou">
Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + 更 + Adj.

</div>
The only new thing here is the addition of 更 (gèng) before the
adjective.

<div class="liju">
-   小李 <em>比</em> 小张 <strong>更 高</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Lǐ <em>bǐ</em> Xiǎo Zhāng <strong>gèng
    gāo </strong>.</span><span class="trans">Xiao Li is even taller than
    Xiao Zhang.</span>

</div>
The implication is that while Xiao Zhang is *tall*, 小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is
*even taller*.

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   我 哥哥 <em>比</em> 我 <strong>更 高</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ gēge <em>bǐ</em> wǒ <strong>gèng
    gāo</strong>.</span><span class="trans">My big brother is even
    taller than me.</span>
-   你 男朋友 <em>比</em> 我男朋友 <strong> 更 帅 </strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ nánpéngyou <em>bǐ</em> wǒ nánpéngyou
    <strong>gèng shuài</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Your
    boyfriend is even more handsome than mine.</span>
-   这里 的 冬天 <em>比</em> 纽约 的 冬天 <strong>更 冷</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Zhèlǐ de dōngtiān <em>bǐ</em> Niǔyuē de
    dōngtiān <strong>gèng lěng</strong>.</span><span class="trans">The
    winter here is even colder than it is in New York.</span>
-   中文 语法 <em>比</em> 汉字 <strong>更 好玩</strong>
    。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngwén yǔfǎ <em>bǐ</em> Hànzì <strong>gèng
    hǎowán</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Chinese grammar is even
    more fun than Chinese characters.</span>
-   你的 问题 <em>比</em> 我的 问题 <strong>更
    麻烦</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de wèntí <em>bǐ</em> wǒ de
    wèntí <strong>gèng máfan</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Your
    problem is even more troublesome than mine.</span>

</div>
See Also
--------

Check these other comparison patterns out as well:

-   [Basic comparisons with
    "meiyou"](Basic_comparisons_with_"meiyou" "wikilink")
-   [Basic comparisons with "bu
    bi"](Basic_comparisons_with_"bu_bi" "wikilink")
-   [Comparing](Comparing "wikilink") (patterns across all levels)

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

### Books

-   [Basic Patterns of Chinese
    Grammar](Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar "wikilink") (pp. 61-3)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899)
-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (p.
    53)
    [→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)
-   [New Practical Chinese Reader
    2 (新实用汉语课本2)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_2_(新实用汉语课本2) "wikilink") (pp.
    65-6)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561911297)
-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2
    (3rd ed)](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed) "wikilink") (pp.
    6-8)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276709)
-   [New Practical Chinese Reader
    3 (新实用汉语课本3)](New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(新实用汉语课本3) "wikilink") (pp.
    184-5)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=756191251X)

### Websites

-   Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: [Usage of 跟 and
    比](http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0220.html)

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