eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071727374757677787980818283848586
							<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
  <meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0"/>
  <title>Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"</title>
  <link href="../Styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>Expressing "not very" with "<span class="pinyinst">bù tài</span>" "<span class="hanzist">不太</span>"</h1>

  <p>You may be familiar with using <span class="hanzi">太</span> (<span class="pinyin">tài</span>) to express "too," such as when something is "<b>too expensive</b>" or "<b>too hot</b>." <span class="hanzi">不太</span> (<span class="pinyin">bù tài</span>) is a similar pattern for the negative, which just means "<b>not very</b>" or "<b>not so</b>" (literally "<b>not too</b>"). Note that this pattern does not normally use <span class="hanzi">了 </span>(<span class="pinyin">le</span>).</p>

  <h2 id="不太-bù-tài-with-adjectives"><span class="hanzist">不太</span> (<span class="pinyinst">bù tài</span>) with Adjectives</h2>

  <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Subj. + <span class="hanzist">不太</span> + Adj.</p>
  </div>

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

  <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 家 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 大。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiā <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> dà.</span> <br/>My house is not too big.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">那 个 地方 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 远。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Nàge dìfang <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> yuǎn.</span> <br/>That place is not very far away.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">老板 今天 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 高兴。</span> <span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn jīntiān <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> gāoxìng.</span> <br/>The boss is not very happy today.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">这 个 店 的 衣服 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 贵。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège diàn de yīfu <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> guì.</span> <br/>The clothes in this shop are not too expensive.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 觉得 他 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 聪明。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ juéde tā <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> cōngming.</span><br/> I think he is not too smart.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="不太-bù-tài-with-verbs"><span class="hanzist">不太</span> (<span class="pinyinst">bù tài</span>) with Verbs</h2>

  <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>

  <p>This pattern can be used with some psychological verbs (e.g. <span class="hanzi">喜欢</span> (<span class="pinyin">xǐhuan</span>), <span class="hanzi">想</span> (<span class="pinyin">xiǎng</span>), <span class="hanzi">明白 </span> <span class="pinyin">míngbai</span>)), as is the case with the next examples. These verbs are relatively limited.</p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Subj. + <span class="hanzist">不太</span> + Verb</p>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 懂 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> dǒng.</span><br/> I don't really understand.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 会 说 英语 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> huì shuō Yīngyǔ.</span><br/> I can't really speak English.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他们 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 想 去 。</span> <span class="pinyin">Tāmen <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> xiǎng qù.</span><br/> They don't really want to go.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">我 哥哥 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 喜欢 他 的 工作 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ gēge <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> xǐhuan tā de gōngzuò.</span> <br/>My older brother doesn't really like his job.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">他 <span class="fondjaune">不 太</span> 明白 老板 的 意思 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin">Tā <span class="fondjaune">bù tài</span> míngbai lǎobǎn de yìsi.</span> <br/>He didn't really understand what the boss meant.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="Expressing_&quot;excessively&quot;_with_tai" title="wikilink">Expressing "excessively" with tai</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 200)</li>

    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (pp. 180-181)　</li>

    <li>A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (<span class="hanzi">外国人实用汉语语法</span>) (pp. 109)</li>
  </ul>
</body>
</html>