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<title>Expressing "less than" with "budao"</title>
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<h1>Expressing "less than" with "budao"
</h1>

<p>The word 到 (dào) means "arrive," but it can also mean "to reach" or "to get to" in an abstract sense. So in this pattern, 不到 (bùdào) means "to not reach (the amount of)," or, to put it another way, "to be less than."</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Basic Pattern </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.2 Examples </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Advanced Pattern </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2.1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2.2 Examples </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 See also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 Sources and further reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.1 Books</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h2>Basic Pattern</h2>

<h3>Structure</h3>

<div class="deux">Subj. + 不到 + Number + [Measure Word] + Noun</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 女儿 不到 三 岁 。
Wǒ nǚ'ér bùdào sān suì.
My daughter is less than three years old. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 家 到 公司 不到 五 百 米 。
Wǒ jiā dào gōngsī bùdào wǔ bǎi mǐ.
My house is less than 500 meters from the company. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">在 美国 ，不到 21 岁 不 能 喝酒 。
Zài Měiguó, bùdào èrshí-yī suì, bù néng hējiǔ.
In America, people under 21 can't drink alcohol.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h2>Advanced Pattern</h2>

<h3>Structure</h3>

<p>When 不到 (bùdào) is put before a time or a duration of time, it needs to be followed with 就 (jiù). This shows that something (usually referring to the past) has happened earlier than expected.</p>

<div class="deux">Subj. + 不到 + Time + 就 + Predicate + 了</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 的 病 不到 一个 星期 就 好 了 。
Tā de bìng bùdào yī gè xīngqī jiù hǎo le.
It took less than one week for her to recover from her sickness. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">李 医生 不到 55 岁 就 退休 了 。
Lǐ yīshēng bùdào wǔshí-wǔ suì jiù tuìxiū le.
Dr. Li is less than 55 years old and he already retired. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<p>For other similar uses of 就, see also expressing earliness with "jiu."</p>

<h3>See also</h3>
<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Emphasizing quantity with "dou" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Referring to "all" using "suoyou" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Indicating a number in excess </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Indicating the whole with "quan"</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Sources and further reading</h3>

<h4>Books</h4>
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