How to use 不如 (bùrú, “not as … as”) to make comparisons in Mandarin Chinese?

Mandarin Chinese has many ways of expressing comparisons, one of which is the use of 不如 (bùrú), as in the following pattern:

不如 (bùrú) makes comparisons in the negative form. For example,

In the example above, 不如 (bùrú) is put between the two people that are being compared, to express that “he” is less clever than “Xiao Wang.” This form of comparison is commonly used in Mandarin and it is important to know how to use it. Are you up to learning it? Come on and dive in!

不如 (bùrú) makes a negative comparison; the positive form of 不如 is 如 (rú), no surprise here.
For example,

不如 (bùrú) can be used to make comparisons in a similar way as 不比 (bùbǐ); however, there are some differences between the two. For example,

The first sentenceNo definition set for sentenceLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. has only one meaning: “Xiao Wang’s temper is not as good as Xiao Zhang’s,” i.e. Xiao Zhang has a good temper. However, the second sentence could have two readings: 1) “Xiao Wang has no better temper than Xiao Zhang,” i.e. they have similar tempers, whether they are good or bad tempered; 2) “Xiao Wang has a worse temper than Xiao Zhang.”

Another difference between 不如  (bùrú) and 不比 (bùbǐ) is that 不如 can be used without adding extra words to describe “what kind,” “to what degree,” etc., exemplified by words such as “good,” “bad,” or “intelligent.”

The above table shows that the 不如 (bùrú) sentence is fine without adding any word after 他, but the 不比 (bùbǐ) sentence is not fine when a qualifying word is missing after 他. The 不比 sentence becomes fine when a qualifying word such as 好 (hǎo, good) is added to it. In other words, 好 can be added or omitted in the 不如 sentence, but not in the 不比 sentence.

不如 (bùrú) can have a reinforced form by adding 与其 (yǔqí), as follows:

Let's see an example:

The pair 与其 (yǔqí) and 不如 (bùrú) tend to be used in a formal situation. Each element of the pair (与其, 不如) presents a choice, the first choice presented by 与其 (yǔqí) is not preferred, but the second choice presented by 不如 (bùrú) is the speaker's favorite.

不如 (bùrú) can be used to make a suggestion, meaning “rather than A, might as well B.” For example,

The speaker uses 不如 (bùrú) here to suggest "staying at home." 不如 indicates "why don't we ... ?"

Another word similar to 不如 (bùrú) is 没有 (méiyǒu). Both can form a negative comparison. However, 不如 (bùrú) works only with a positive word (e.g. "excellent"), but 没有 (méiyǒu) goes with both positive and negative (e.g. "bad") words. for example:

In the first sentence, 没有 (méiyǒu) negates a positive word ("study hard"), in the second sentence 没有 negates a non-positive word (“being evil”).

As shown above, unlike 没有 (méiyǒu), 不如 (bùrú) can only be used with positive words, not negative words. Moreover, it is useful to know that 不如 (bùrú) tends to be used in a more formal context.

• 不如 (bùrú) makes negative comparisons and follows the pattern of A 不如 (bùrú) B (A is not as ... as B).

• 不如 (bùrú) expresses “A is not as … as B,” but 不比 (bùbǐ) expresses “A is not as … as B” or “A is no better than B.”

• 与其 (yǔqí) A, 不如 (bùrú) B (Rather than A, better B) is a reinforcedd form of 不如 (bùrú).

• 与其 (yǔqí) can also be used to make a suggestion: "Rather than A, might as well B."

• Although 不如 (bùrú) and 没有 (méiyǒu) can both form a negative comparison, 不如 always goes with positive items, 没有 can go with both positive and negative items.

There you have it! You now know all about 不如 (bùrú), time to put it into practice? Yep, go ahead and click here for practice exercises!