2 · Comparison
Comparing with bǐ
A is more … than B
A, then bǐ, then B, then the adjective — and no hěn in front of it.
To say that A is more something than B, Chinese puts 比 between the two and the adjective at the end: 今天比昨天冷, “today is colder than yesterday”. The adjective itself does not change — there is no “colder”, only “cold” — and 比, which means “to compare”, does all the comparing. The order is the one to learn by heart: A, 比, B, adjective.
The trap for English speakers is 很. In a plain sentence it links the subject to the adjective (今天很冷), so it feels natural to keep it. In a 比 sentence it has to go, and so do 非常, 太 and 真: 比 has already said how the two compare, and “very” would contradict it. What may stand before the adjective is 更 or 还, “even more”: 今天比昨天还冷.
A and B do not have to be nouns. They can be places, times, or whole activities: 坐地铁比坐公交车快, “taking the metro is faster than taking the bus”. When both sides share a noun, the second one is usually dropped and 的 stays behind: 我的手机比你的新, “my phone is newer than yours”. Verbs of liking and wanting fit the same slot as an adjective: 她比我喜欢运动.
To compare how two people do something, combine 比 with the degree complement: 他跑得比我快 or 他比我跑得快, “he runs faster than I do”. And be careful with the negative: 我不比他高 denies a claim — “I am not taller than him”, perhaps we are the same — and does not say “I am shorter”. For that, Chinese has 没有, the next topic but one.
The form
| A is taller than B | 我比他高。 |
| even taller | 我比他还高。 |
| not taller than (maybe the same) | 我不比他高。 |
| a question | 你比他高吗？ |
| comparing how something is done | 他跑得比我快。 |
| with a verb of liking | 她比我喜欢唱歌。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The adjective stands at the end and takes no 很, 非常 or 太.
这双鞋比那双贵。This pair of shoes is more expensive than that pair.
To say “even more”, put 更 or 还 before the adjective.
今天比昨天还热。Today is even hotter than yesterday.
When both sides share a noun, the second one can be left out, but 的 stays.
我的房间比你的大。My room is bigger than yours.
With a verb and 得, the 比 phrase can stand before the verb or after 得.
她说得比我清楚。She explains it more clearly than I do.
不 before 比 denies a comparison; it does not mean “less”.
他不比你高，你们俩差不多高。He is not taller than you — you are about the same.
A closer look
Why there is no “-er”
A Chinese adjective already behaves like a verb: 高 means “to be tall”. On its own, without 很, it even carries a hint of comparison: 他高，我矮 is “he is the tall one, I am the short one”. That is why a plain description needs 很 as a neutral link, and why the link disappears the moment a real comparison takes over.
Because the adjective never changes, Chinese has no irregular forms to learn: “good, better, best” is 好, 比…好 and 最好. Everything that English does with endings, Chinese does with a handful of words before or after an adjective that stays as it is.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the comparison is about doing something earlier, later, more or less
早, 晚, 多 or 少 stand before the verb, not at the end of the sentence.
他比我早到了。He arrived earlier than I did.
Here the adjective describes how the action is done, so it moves to the place before the verb where such words stand anyway.
How to spot it
- 比
- 不比
- 比…更
- 比…还
Example sentences
坐地铁比坐公交车快。Taking the metro is faster than taking the bus.
这家饭馆比那家便宜。This restaurant is cheaper than that one.
北京的冬天比上海的冷。Winter in Beijing is colder than in Shanghai.
我弟弟比我高。My younger brother is taller than me.
你的中文比我的好。Your Chinese is better than mine.
今天比昨天暖和。Today is warmer than yesterday.
8 more example sentences
这条路比那条近。This route is shorter than that one.
我觉得猫比狗安静。I think cats are quieter than dogs.
今年的夏天比去年的热。This year's summer is hotter than last year's.
她比我喜欢看电影。She likes watching films more than I do.
他跑得比我快。He runs faster than I do.
这儿的水果比超市里的新鲜。The fruit here is fresher than the fruit in the supermarket.
你哥哥比你高吗？Is your older brother taller than you?
坐火车比坐飞机舒服。Going by train is more comfortable than flying.
Worth knowing (1)
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Saying the verb twice
When the action has an object, the verb cannot carry both the object and 得. Say the verb with its object first, then say it again with 得: 他开车开得比我快, “he drives faster than I do”.
她说中文说得比我流利。She speaks Chinese more fluently than I do.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “busier”, never “very busier”, and Chinese is the same: once 比has compared the two很has no job left and makes the sentence wrong If you want to strengthen it, use 更 or 还 before the adjective, or an amount after it.
A bǐ B adjective — and leave hěn out.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.