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Mandarin grammar Part of Chapter 5

CEFR A1-A2

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Test yourself (20 questions)

Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 最 and 跟…一样 With Examples

By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 12 October 2026

Mandarin compares with A (bǐ) B + adjective: (tā bǐ wǒ gāo), he's taller than me. Nothing changes on the adjective. "Not as" is (méiyǒu), "as… as" is … (gēn… yíyàng), "the most" is (zuì) and "fairly" is (bǐjiào).

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Tap the natural Mandarin.

  1. He's taller than me.

  2. Today is a bit colder than yesterday.

  3. I'm not as tall as him.

The whole system on one screen

The colours stay the same all page long:

比 bǐ (more than)没有 méiyǒu (not as)一样 yíyàng (the same)how much (the degree word)What do the colours mean?
MeaningHanziPinyinEnglish
More than。Tā bǐ wǒ gāoHe's taller than me
A bit more。Tā bǐ wǒ gāo yìdiǎnHe's a bit taller than me
Not as。Wǒ méiyǒu tā gāoI'm not as tall as him
As… as。Wǒ gēn tā yíyàng gāoI'm as tall as him
The most。Tā zuì gāoHe's the tallest
Fairly。Tā bǐjiào gāoHe's fairly tall

比 (bǐ): more than

比 bǐ (more than)how much (the degree word)What do the colours mean?

The thing you are talking about, (bǐ), what you compare it with, then the adjective:

A
比
B
Adjective
HanziPinyinEnglish
。Tā bǐ wǒ gāo.He's taller than me
。Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng.Today is colder than yesterday
。Zhège bǐ nàge guì.This one is dearer than that one

The adjective stays bare: no (hěn) or (fēicháng) in front. The usual words allowed there are (gèng) and (hái), "even more":

  • 。 (Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān gèng lěng.) - Today is even colder than yesterday.

How much more: 一点 (yìdiǎn), 多了 (duō le) and exact amounts

比 bǐ (more than)how much (the degree word)What do the colours mean?

To say how much more, put the amount AFTER the adjective, never before it:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Tā bǐ wǒ gāo yìdiǎn.He's a bit taller than me
。Tā bǐ wǒ gāo duō le.He's much taller than me
。Tā bǐ wǒ gāo de duō.He's much taller than me
。Tā bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì.He's two years older than me

(duō le) and (de duō) both mean "much"; is the more spoken of the two. An exact figure sits in the same place: (zhège bǐ nàge guì wǔ kuài), this one is five yuan dearer.

没有 (méiyǒu): not as… as

比 bǐ (more than)没有 méiyǒu (not as)What do the colours mean?

The everyday negative of (bǐ) is not . It is (méiyǒu), often with (nàme), "that", before the adjective:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ méiyǒu tā gāo.I'm not as tall as him
。Wǒ méiyǒu tā nàme gāo.I'm not as tall as him
。Jīntiān méiyǒu zuótiān lěng.Today isn't as cold as yesterday

(bù bǐ) exists, but it answers a claim rather than comparing. Someone says you are taller; you reply:

  • 。 (Wǒ bù bǐ tā gāo.) - I'm no taller than him (we're about the same).

跟 (gēn)… 一样 (yíyàng): the same as

一样 yíyàng (the same)What do the colours mean?

A + (gēn) or (hé) + B + (yíyàng) is "the same as". Add an adjective after for "as… as":

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng.I'm the same as you
。Wǒ gēn tā yíyàng gāo.I'm as tall as him
。Zhège hé nàge yíyàng guì.This one is as dear as that one
。Zhōngwén hé Yīngwén bù yíyàng.Chinese and English are different

(gēn) is a little more spoken, (hé) a little more written; both are right. (bù yíyàng) only says two things differ; for which one is more, go back to (bǐ).

最 (zuì): the most

how much (the degree word)What do the colours mean?

(zuì) goes straight before the adjective or verb, with no (hěn). Before a noun, (de) joins it on:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Xiàtiān zuì rè.Summer is the hottest
。Wǒ zuì xǐhuan qiūtiān.I like autumn best
。Zhè shì zuì guì de.This is the dearest one
。Tā shì wǒ zuì hǎo de péngyou.He's my best friend
The same smiling golden dog drawn three times side by side on the grass: a tiny one, a normal-sized one and a huge one that fills half the picture.

小 xiǎo, small; 比较大 bǐjiào dà, fairly big; 最大 zuì dà, the biggest.

比较 (bǐjiào): fairly, rather

how much (the degree word)What do the colours mean?

(bǐjiào) before an adjective compares with no B: fairly, rather, more than you might expect. It is the polite way to give an opinion:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Zhōngwén bǐjiào nán.Chinese is fairly hard
。Jīntiān bǐjiào lěng.It's rather cold today
。Zhège bǐjiào piányi.This one is cheaper

The last line is how a shop says "cheaper": no B, because the B is everything else on the shelf.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
。。a (bǐ) sentence takes a bare adjective
。。how much more goes after the adjective
。。"not as tall" is (méiyǒu), not …
。。in speech, (zuì) + adjective takes (de) before a noun (headlines sometimes drop it)

Comparison with (bǐ), (bǐjiào), (zuì) and /… is on the AQA GCSE Chinese specification at Foundation and Higher tier; comparisons with a quantity (, ) are Higher tier.

What to do next

  1. Do the drill below.
  2. Compare today with yesterday: … (jīntiān bǐ zuótiān…).
  3. Then read adjectives without 是 for the (hěn) that (bǐ) sentences leave out.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/4

Tap the natural Mandarin.

  1. He's taller than me.

  2. Today is a bit colder than yesterday.

  3. I'm not as tall as him.

  4. I like summer best.

Complete the story

0/3

Choose the word for each gap.

Two cities in winter

北京的冬天这里冷。这里的冬天北京那么冷。我喜欢秋天，不冷也不热。

Gap 1 of 3

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

  1. tā bǐ wǒ hěn gāo 。

  2. tā bǐ wǒ yì diǎn gāo 。

  3. zhè ge bǐ nà ge zuì guì 。

Sort into groups

0/5

Which word goes in each gap?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Matching

0/5

Match each sentence to its English.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'more than' in Mandarin?
A + (bǐ) + B + adjective: (tā bǐ wǒ gāo), he is taller than me. No word for 'more' is needed, and no (hěn) goes before the adjective. (gèng), even more, is allowed: (tā bǐ wǒ gèng gāo).
How do you say 'a bit taller' or 'much taller' in Mandarin?
Put the amount after the adjective: (tā bǐ wǒ gāo yìdiǎn), a bit taller; (tā bǐ wǒ gāo duō le), much taller. An exact amount goes there too: (tā bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì), he's two years older than me.
How do you say 'not as… as' in Mandarin?
A + (méiyǒu) + B + adjective, often with (nàme): (wǒ méiyǒu tā nàme gāo), I'm not as tall as him. (bù bǐ) is not the plain negative: (wǒ bù bǐ tā gāo) answers a claim, 'I'm no taller than him'.
How do you say 'the same as' in Mandarin?
A + (gēn) or (hé) + B + (yíyàng): (wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng), I'm the same as you. Add an adjective for 'as… as': (tā gēn wǒ yíyàng gāo), he's as tall as me. 'Different' is (bù yíyàng).
How do you say 'the most' in Mandarin?
Put (zuì) before the adjective or verb: (zuì hǎo), best; (wǒ zuì xǐhuan xiàtiān), I like summer best. Before a noun, add (de): (zuì guì de chē), the most expensive car.