A 比 (bǐ) B + verb / adjective /adverbs …
Mandarin Chinese Articles
How to make comparisons in Mandarin using 比 (bǐ), 跟 (gēn), and 像 (xiàng)？
By: Grace Zhang Fri Aug 30 2024
Mandarin chineseExpression Of Comparison
You can use 比 (bî, than), 跟 (gēn, to compare) and 像 (xiàng, like) to make comparisons in Mandarin Chinese. 比 (bǐ) is often used to compare different things, while 像 (xiàng) is doing the opposite, comparing similar things. 跟 (gēn) is somewhere in the middle, used to compare either different or similar things. Intrigued? Oookay, let’s read on for more details!
Table of Contents
How to use 比 (bǐ) to express comparison in Mandarin Chinese?
比 (bǐ, than) is one of the most common words when comparing things in Mandarin. It is used to compare different people or items. You can use it with verbs (e.g. “run”), adjectives (e.g. “red”), or adverbs (e.g. “quickly”)
他比我来得早。
(Tā bǐ wǒ lái de zǎo.)
He came earlier than me.
他比我大。
(Tā bǐ wǒ dà.)
He is older than me.
The first example compares two people (or entities), 他 (tā, he) and 我 (wǒ, I, me), in regards to how they do something. In the second example, the sentence compares two people in regards to what quality they have.
Important
We can use 很 (hěn, very) to emphasize the degree of difference. For example, 他比我大很多 (Tā bǐ wǒ dà hěn duō, He is much older than me). DO NOT say, 他比我很大 (Tā bǐ wǒ hěn dà, He is much older than me). This is because 很 is not allowed to be placed before the adjective 大 in 比 (bǐ) comparison.
In a negative comparison, we say 他不比我大 (Tā bù bǐ wǒ dà, He is not older than me). DO NOT say, 他比我不大 (Tā bǐ wǒ bù dà, He is not older than me).
Another similar negative form of comparison is 他没有我大 (Tā méiyǒu wǒ dà, He is not older than me).
比 (bǐ) is not used together with 一样 (yīyàng, same), because 比 (bǐ) mostly compares two different entities (see below).
The question form for 比 (bǐ) comparison is 他比我大吗 (Tā bǐ wǒ dà ma, Is he older than me?) .
You can add specific or non-specific quantity in 比 (bǐ) comparisons. For example:
A 比 (bǐ) B + verb/ adjective + specific quantity
他比我大两岁。
(Tā bǐ wǒ dà liǎngsuì.)
He is two years older than me.
A 比 (bǐ) B + verb/ adjective + non-specific quantity
In this pattern, the quantity is not exact. Words expressing non-specific quantities include 一点儿 (yīdiǎnr, a little), 一些 (yīxiē, some) , 多 (duō, many, much), etc. For example:
他比我大一点儿。
(Tā bǐ wǒ dà yīdiǎnr.)
He is a bit older than me.
How to use 跟 (gēn) to express comparison in Mandarin Chinese?
跟 (gēn, with) compares A and B for similarity or difference. 跟 ... （不 ( bù))一样 (yīyàng)is a common structure for expressing “as ... as…,” “same … as,” and “different from.”
A 跟 (gēn) B 一样 (yīyàng, “as … as”)
A 跟 (gēn) B 不一样 (bù yīyàng, “not as … as”)
他的手机跟我的一样。
(Tā de shǒujī gēn wǒ de yīyàng.)
His cell phone is the same as mine.
他的手机跟我的不一样。
(Tā de shǒujī gēn wǒ de bù yīyàng.)
His cell phone is not the same as mine.
A 跟 (gēn) B 一样 (yīyàng, as…as) + adjective
A 跟 (gēn) B 不一样 (bù yīyàng, not as…as) + adjective
他跟我一样高。
(Tā gēn wǒ yīyàng gāo.)
He is as tall as me.
他跟我不一样高。
(Tā gēn wǒ bù yīyàng gāo.)
He is not as tall as me.
跟 (gēn) comparison can be used at the beginning of a sentence. For example,
跟他比(起来)，我更喜欢喝咖啡。
(Gēn tā bǐ (qǐlai), wǒ gèng xǐhuan hē kāfēi.)
Compared with him, I prefer coffee more.
(Note: 起来 makes the sentence slightly informal. It can be omitted depending on the situation)
跟去年比，他高了不少。
(Gēn qùnián bǐ, tā gāo le bùshǎo.)
Compared with last year, he is much taller.
How to use 像 (xiàng, “look like”) to express comparison in Mandarin Chinese?
像 (xiàng, like) is used to express the similarity between A and B. For example, two people A and B are the same age, they both like eating Chinese dumplings, etc.
A 像 (xiàng) B 一样 (yīyàng) + adjective
他像我一样天真。
(Tā xiàng wǒ yīyàng tiānzhēn.)
He is as naive as me.
A 像 (xiàng) B 一样 (yīyàng) 这么 (zhème) / 那么 (nàme) …
This pattern adds in 这么 (zhème) / 那么 (nàme, so) to express an enhanced degree.
她像母亲一样那么关心我。
(Tā xiàng mǔqīn yīyàng nàme guānxīn wǒ.)
She cares so much about me like a mother.
Important
像 (xiàng) cannot be preceded by words like 很 (hěn) / 非常 (fēicháng) / 十分 (shífēn, very) . For example, DO NOT say 他很像我一样天真 (Tā hěn xiàng wǒ yīyàng tiānzhēn, He is very much as naive as me).
To say “not as … as,” you can use 不像 in this pattern:
A 不像 (bù xiàng) B …
他不像我那么天真。
(Tā bù xiàng wǒ nàme tiānzhēn.)
He is not as naive as I am.
What are more words for comparisons in Mandarin Chinese?
Previously we had discussed making comparisons with 有 (yǒu) and 不如 (bùrú). In this post we have talked about 比 (bǐ), 跟 (gēn), and 像 (xiàng) . These five ways of forming comparison provide a wide range of options for us to do comparison. They often follow a similar pattern, e.g. “A 有/不如/比/跟/像 B + positive or negative statement.” They are also used differently, e.g. we can say 他比/有我高 (Tā bǐ/yǒu wǒ gāo, He is taller than I), but we cannot say 他跟/像我高 (Tā gēn/xiàng wǒ gāo). This is because the first lot tends to compare different items, and the second lot tends to compare similar items. For the second lot to work, we add 一样 (yīyàng), that is 他跟/像我一样高 (Tā gēn/xiàng wǒ yīyàng gāo, He is as tall as I am).
To express that someone or something has a quality in even greater degree you can use 更 (gèng, even more) , and 最 (zuì, most) , and is used to express that someone or something has the quality in the greatest degree.
To sum up
In Mandarin, we can use 比 (bǐ), 跟 (gēn) , and 像 (xiàng) to form comparisons. They follow the general pattern:
A 比 (bǐ) B … (positive statement) |
A 跟 (gēn) B 一样 (yīyàng) … (positive statement) |
A 像 (xiàng) B 一样 (yīyàng) … (positive statement) |
Okay, now it is time to put what we have said above into practice. Here are some exercises for you to practice making comparisons in Mandarin Chinese!
Downloadable Resources
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How to make comparisons in Mandarin using 比 (bǐ), 跟 (gēn), and 像 (xiàng)~Activities
