ChineseGrammarWiki/Programmes/B2.old/Grammar-wiki-B2-56.txt.html

<p>You might wonder why you have 不比 (bù bǐ) for negative comparisons when you already have <a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;meiyou&quot;" title="wikilink">没有 (méiyǒu) for comparisons</a>. The answer is that they're not exactly the same thing! 没有 should be your &quot;go to word&quot; for expressing &quot;not as... as...,&quot; but there are cases where 不比 (in all of its subtle glory) is a better choice.</p>
<h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<p>To say that something is <em>not more adjective</em> as another, you can use 不比 (bù bǐ). No snickering, please. 这些形容词经常是undesirable一类。</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>A + 不比 + B + Verb + 得 + Adj.</p>
</div>
<p>This is similar to, but not exactly the same as <a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;meiyou&quot;" title="wikilink">comparing with 没有</a>. Note that &quot;Verb + 得&quot; can also placed before 不比.</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 <em>不 比</em> 别人 笨 。<span class="trans">You're not any more stupid than other people.</span></li>
<li>他 儿子 <em>不 比</em> 他 矮 。<span class="trans">His son is not shorter than he is.</span></li>
<li>大人 <em>不 比</em> 孩子 聪明 。<span class="trans">Adults are not smarter than children.</span></li>
<li>你 唱 得 <em>不 比</em> 歌手 差 。<span class="trans">You sing as well as a singer does.</span></li>
<li>这个 年轻 的 老师 教 得 <em>不 比</em> 那个 老 老师 差 。<span class="trans">This young teacher teaches as well as the old teacher does.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="the-difference-between-不比-and-没有">The Difference between 不比 and 没有</h2>
<p>不比 and <a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;meiyou&quot;" title="wikilink">没有</a> are not exactly the same. 没有 means &quot;not as... as,&quot; whereas 不比 is a direct negation of <a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;bi&quot;" title="wikilink">比</a>, meaning &quot;<em>not</em> more... than.&quot; Compare the following two English sentences:</p>
<ul>
<li>You're <strong>not as smart</strong> as me. (没有)</li>
<li>You're <strong>not smarter</strong> than me. (不比)</li>
</ul>
<p>You'd probably be more upset to hear the former from a friend than the latter. The two above sentences in Chinese are:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 <em>没有</em> 我 聪明。 <span class="expl">I am definitely smarter than you; we're not equal in smarts.</span></li>
<li>你 <em>不 比</em> 我 聪明。 <span class="expl">You're no smarter than I am, but we might be equal in smarts.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;bi&quot;" title="wikilink">Basic comparisons with &quot;bi&quot;</a></li>
<li><a href="Basic_comparisons_with_&quot;meiyou&quot;" title="wikilink">Basic comparisons with &quot;meiyou&quot;</a></li>
<li><a href="Expressing_&quot;much_more&quot;_in_comparisons" title="wikilink">Expressing &quot;much more&quot; in comparisons</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar" title="wikilink">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar</a> (pp. 64) <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>
</ul>










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