比 — comparison: “A is …er than B”
Pattern: A + 比 + B + adj.
A 比 B + adjective: A is more … than B: 他比我高. Add the difference at the end: 他比我大三岁 “he’s three years older than me”, 今天比昨天冷多了 “much colder”. Never put 很 or 非常 before the adjective!
Examples
| 1 | 他比我高。 tā bǐ wǒ gāo He is taller than me. |
| 2 | 今天比昨天冷。 jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng Today is colder than yesterday. |
| 3 | 哥哥比我大三岁。 gēge bǐ wǒ dà sān suì My brother is three years older than me. |
| 4 | 坐地铁比坐出租车快多了。 zuò dìtiě bǐ zuò chūzūchē kuài duō le The metro is much faster than a taxi. |
A common mistake
- ✕ Wrong:
他比我很高。→ ✓ Right: 他比我高。 - ✕ Wrong:
他比我高三岁。→ ✓ Right: 他比我大三岁。
Explanations and examples by Zitou. Pinyin added automatically and checked.