比: How Chinese Says “Bigger, Faster, More”
比 (bǐ) is the everyday comparison word — the way to say one thing is taller, cheaper or better than another. The pattern is simpler than English, but it has one rule that trips up nearly every learner. Audio on every example.
How do you say one thing is bigger, faster or better than another in Chinese? You use 比 (bǐ): the bi comparison. The frame is refreshingly simple — A 比 B + adjective: 我比你高 (“I’m taller than you”), 今天比昨天冷 (“today is colder than yesterday”). There’s no “more” or “than” to juggle. But there’s one habit English speakers bring that breaks it every time — and once you drop it, 比 becomes second nature.
What the bi comparison does
比 marks a comparison between two things on some quality — taller, cheaper, busier, more interesting. It sits between the two items being compared: A 比 B means “A compared to B”, and the adjective that follows tells you how A wins out. 我比你高 literally lines up as “I — compared to — you — tall”, i.e. “I’m taller than you.” The thing you’re measuring always comes first, and 比 does the rest of the work that English splits across “more… than.” That single word is the whole engine of the bi comparison.
The basic bi comparison pattern
The skeleton is A + 比 + B + Adjective, and here is the rule that catches everyone: no 很, 非常 or 太 before the adjective. In a normal sentence you’d say 我很高 (“I’m tall”) — the 很 is almost obligatory. But the moment 比 enters, that intensifier has to go: ✓ 我比你高, ✗ 我比你很高. The comparison itself supplies the emphasis, so the adjective stands bare. Drop the 很 and you’ve mastered 80% of 比.
Everyday 比 sentences
Six bi comparison sentences you’ll actually use. The Chinese Grammar Wiki has many more. Tap 🔊 to hear each.
Saying how much more
To say how much bigger or cheaper, put the amount after the adjective — never before it. A small gap: 我比你高一点儿 (“a little taller”). A specific gap: 他比我大三岁 (“three years older”), 这条裤子比那条长两公分 (“two centimetres longer”). A big gap: 这个比那个贵得多 or 贵多了 (“much more expensive”). The English order is backwards from Chinese here, so this is worth drilling: adjective first, amount second.
The negative: 没有, not 不比
To say A is not as [adj] as B, the natural choice is 没有, not 不比: 我没有你高 (“I’m not as tall as you”), 今天没有昨天冷 (“today isn’t as cold as yesterday”). You can add 那么 for emphasis: 我没有你那么高. The form 不比 does exist, but it carries a subtler meaning — “not necessarily more than” — so beginners should reach for 没有 every time.
比 with verbs
To compare how someone does something, 比 teams up with the 得 complement. Two natural orders work: 他比我跑得快 and 他跑得比我快 (both: “he runs faster than me”). The comparison rides the descriptive complement after 得 — you can’t just say ✗ 他比我很快跑. Same logic, same bare adjective: the 比 carries the emphasis.
比 vs 跟…一样 (saying “as…as”)
比 is for differences. When two things are equal, you switch patterns entirely to 跟…一样: 我跟你一样高 (“I’m just as tall as you”). And to say they’re not the same: 我跟你不一样高. Keep the two apart — the bi comparison ranks them, 跟…一样 levels them — and you’ll cover almost every comparison you need in daily speech.
Three rules that make the bi comparison work
1. No intensifier before the adjective. Drop 很/非常/太 the moment 比 appears: 我比你高, not 我比你很高.
2. The amount of difference goes after the adjective. 高一点儿, 大三岁, 贵得多 — never before it.
3. Negate with 没有, not 不比. 我没有你高 is how you say “not as tall as you.”
Five common mistakes, fixed
| ✗ The error | ✓ The fix | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 我比你很高 | 我比你高 | No 很/非常/太 with 比 — the adjective stands bare |
| 我一点儿比你高 | 我比你高一点儿 | The amount of difference goes after the adjective |
| 我不比你高 (for “not as tall”) | 我没有你高 | The natural negative is 没有…, not 不比 |
| 他比我很快跑 | 他比我跑得快 | With a verb, the comparison rides the 得 complement |
| 这个比那个更贵得多 | 这个比那个贵得多 | Don’t stack 更 and 得多 — pick one way to say “much more” |
Quick check — 比 comparisons
Pick the best answer for each:
“I’m taller than you.” 我 ___ 你高。
Which sentence is wrong?
“He is three years older than me.”
“I’m not as tall as you.”
“This one is much more expensive.” 这个比那个 ___。
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Keep going
是…的 construction
Spotlight the when, where or how of a known action — the detail-emphasis frame.
Read the guide →的 / 得 / 地 Explained
The 得 complement that 比 leans on for comparing how you do things.
Read the guide →Measure words
个, 张, 条 and the dozen classifiers that cover daily life — with audio.
Read the guide →