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  2. 

  3. <p>One of the most common words when <a href="comparing" class="uri" title="wikilink">comparing</a> things in Chinese is to use <a href="比" title="wikilink">比 (bǐ)</a>. 比 (bǐ) has similarities to the English word &quot;than,&quot; but it requires a word order that's not so intuitive, so you'll want to practice it quite a bit.</p>
    4. 

  4. <h2 id="basic-usage">Basic Usage</h2>
    5. 

  5. <p>You could think of 比 (bǐ) as meaning &quot;than,&quot; except that it sits between the two things being compared. The <a href="word_order" title="wikilink">word order</a> will take a little getting used to, but aside from that, the pattern is quite easy.</p>
    6. 

  6. <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
    7. 

  7. <p>To say that one thing is more <em>adjective</em> than another, the structure is:</p>
    8. 

  8. <div class="jiegou">
    9. 

  9. <p>Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + Adj.</p>
    10. 

  10. </div>
    11. 

  11. <p>The noun that's placed first is the one that comes out on top in the comparison. So in the sentence:</p>
    12. 

  12. <div class="liju">
    13. 

  13. <ul>
    14. 

  14. <li>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></li>
    15. 

  15. </ul>
    16. 

  16. </div>
    17. 

  17. <p>小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is taller. The same situation could be described as</p>
    18. 

  18. <div class="liju">
    19. 

  19. <ul>
    20. 

  20. <li>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></li>
    21. 

  21. </ul>
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  22. </div>
    23. 

  23. <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
    24. 

  24. <div class="liju">
    25. 

  25. <ul>
    26. 

  26. <li>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></li>
    27. 

  27. <li>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></li>
    28. 

  28. <li>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></li>
    29. 

  29. <li>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></li>
    30. 

  30. <li>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></li>
    31. 

  31. </ul>
    32. 

  32. </div>
    33. 

  33. <h2 id="common-errors">Common Errors</h2>
    34. 

  34. <p>Try not to make these mistakes:</p>
    35. 

  35. <p>The adjective used in the comparison should be positive, not negative.</p>
    36. 

  36. <div class="liju">
    37. 

  37. <ul>
    38. 

  38. <li>我 <em>比</em> 你 <strong>不 聪明</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bǐ</em> nǐ <strong>bù cōngming </strong>.</span></li>
    39. 

  39. <li>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></li>
    40. 

  40. </ul>
    41. 

  41. </div>
    42. 

  42. <p>比 (bǐ) is not used with 一样 (yīyàng). 比 (bǐ) is used when two things are <em>not</em> the same.</p>
    43. 

  43. <div class="liju">
    44. 

  44. <ul>
    45. 

  45. <li>我 <em>比</em> 你 <strong>一样</strong> 聪明 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bǐ</em> nǐ <strong>yīyàng</strong> cōngming.</span></li>
    46. 

  46. <li>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></li>
    47. 

  47. </ul>
    48. 

  48. </div>
    49. 

  49. <h2 id="pattern-using-比-bǐ-and-更-gèng">Pattern Using 比 (bǐ) and 更 (gèng)</h2>
    50. 

  50. <p>This is a slight upgrade of the basic 比 (bǐ) comparison pattern, adding in <a href="Expressing_&quot;even_more&quot;_with_&quot;geng&quot;" title="wikilink">更 (gèng) before the adjective</a>. 更 (gèng) means &quot;even more,&quot; so the idea is that while one thing is already quite [adjective], this other thing is <strong><em>even more</em></strong> [adjective]. Pretty simple!</p>
    51. 

  51. <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>
    52. 

  52. <div class="jiegou">
    53. 

  53. <p>Noun 1 + 比 + Noun 2 + 更 + Adj.</p>
    54. 

  54. </div>
    55. 

  55. <p>The only new thing here is the addition of 更 (gèng) before the adjective.</p>
    56. 

  56. <div class="liju">
    57. 

  57. <ul>
    58. 

  58. <li>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></li>
    59. 

  59. </ul>
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  60. </div>
    61. 

  61. <p>The implication is that while Xiao Zhang is <em>tall</em>, 小李 (Xiǎo Lǐ) is <em>even taller</em>.</p>
    62. 

  62. <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
    63. 

  63. <div class="liju">
    64. 

  64. <ul>
    65. 

  65. <li>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></li>
    66. 

  66. <li>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></li>
    67. 

  67. <li>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></li>
    68. 

  68. <li>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></li>
    69. 

  69. <li>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></li>
    70. 

  70. </ul>
    71. 

  71. </div>
    72. 

  72. <h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>
    73. 

  73. <p>Check these other comparison patterns out as well:</p>
    74. 

  74. <ul>
    75. 

  75. <li><a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;meiyou&quot;" title="wikilink">Basic comparisons with &quot;meiyou&quot;</a></li>
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  76. <li><a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;bu_bi&quot;" title="wikilink">Basic comparisons with &quot;bu bi&quot;</a></li>
    77. 

  77. <li><a href="Comparing" class="uri" title="wikilink">Comparing</a> (patterns across all levels)</li>
    78. 

  78. </ul>
    79. 

  79. <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
    80. 

  80. <h3 id="books">Books</h3>
    81. 

  81. <ul>
    82. 

  82. <li><a href="Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar" title="wikilink">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar</a> (pp. 61-3) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=1933330899">→buy</a></li>
    83. 

  83. <li><a href="Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition" title="wikilink">Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition</a> (p. 53) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0415372615">→buy</a></li>
    84. 

  84. <li><a href="New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_2_(新实用汉语课本2)" title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)</a> (pp. 65-6) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=7561911297">→buy</a></li>
    85. 

  85. <li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)" title="wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)</a> (pp. 6-8) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276709">→buy</a></li>
    86. 

  86. <li><a href="New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(新实用汉语课本3)" title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)</a> (pp. 184-5) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=756191251X">→buy</a></li>
    87. 

  87. </ul>
    88. 

  88. <h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>
    89. 

  89. <ul>
    90. 

  90. <li>Yale Chinese Usage Dictionary: <a href="http://comet.cls.yale.edu/chineseusagedictionary/0220.html">Usage of 跟 and 比</a></li>
    91. 

  91. </ul>
    92. 

  92. <p>      </p>
    93. 

  93. <p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title="wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a> <a href="Category:Comparison" class="uri" title="wikilink">Category:Comparison</a></p>
    94.