比 (bǐ) is the workhorse of Chinese comparison, and it is one of the very first grammar patterns worth drilling until it is automatic. The whole system rests on a single template: A 比 B + Adjective. Where English changes the adjective itself — tall → taller, expensive → more expensive — Chinese leaves the adjective completely untouched and instead slides the little word 比 between the two things being compared. So "I'm taller than you" is literally "I 比 you tall": 我比你高. Once you trust that the comparison lives in 比 and not in the adjective, the pattern becomes effortless.
The pattern: A 比 B + Adjective
Read 比 as "compared to". The thing that comes out ahead is A; the yardstick it is measured against is B; 比 sits between them; and the quality follows at the end, bare.
| A (subject) | 比 | B (benchmark) | Adjective |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 (I) | 比 | 你 (you) | 高 (tall) |
| 今天 (today) | 比 | 昨天 (yesterday) | 冷 (cold) |
| 这个 (this one) | 比 | 那个 (that one) | 贵 (expensive) |
| 坐地铁 (taking the subway) | 比 | 开车 (driving) | 快 (fast) |
我比你高。
wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo
I'm taller than you. — the textbook 比 sentence: A 比 B, then the plain adjective.
今天比昨天冷。
jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng
Today is colder than yesterday. — time words work as A and B just like people do.
这个比那个贵。
zhège bǐ nàge guì
This one is more expensive than that one. — 'more expensive' is just 贵; the 比 carries the comparison.
Why the adjective stays plain
This is the point English speakers stumble over. In English the comparison is welded onto the adjective (an -er ending or a preceding more). In Chinese the adjective never inflects — 高 is 高 whether it means "tall" or "taller." The relative meaning is supplied entirely by 比. There is simply no Chinese morpheme for "-er," and looking for one leads straight to the classic beginner errors.
It helps to compare 比 with the ordinary, non-comparative way of describing something. On its own a Chinese predicate adjective normally needs a linking degree word, usually 很: 她很高 "she is tall" (here 很 is a nearly empty connector, not really "very" — see the default 很). But the instant you add 比, that 很 must disappear: 她比我高, never 她比我很高. This is the single most important 比 rule, and it has its own page — no 很 in a 比 sentence.
他比我大。
tā bǐ wǒ dà
He's older than me. — 大 (big) is the everyday word for 'older' with people; still just plain 大.
坐地铁比开车快。
zuò dìtiě bǐ kāichē kuài
Taking the subway is faster than driving. — A and B here are whole activities, not nouns.
我们班比他们班人多。
wǒmen bān bǐ tāmen bān rén duō
Our class has more people than theirs. — the quality can be a noun + adjective chunk: 人多 (people-many).
What can fill the A and B slots
Almost anything parallel: pronouns (我 / 你), nouns (今天 / 昨天), noun phrases (我的手机 / 你的手机), and even full verb phrases (坐地铁 / 开车). The only requirement is that A and B be comparable on the same scale — you compare like with like.
我的手机比你的贵一点。
wǒ de shǒujī bǐ nǐ de guì yìdiǎn
My phone is a bit more expensive than yours. — 你的 stands in for '你的手机', avoiding repetition.
坐高铁比坐飞机方便。
zuò gāotiě bǐ zuò fēijī fāngbiàn
Taking the high-speed train is more convenient than flying. — parallel verb phrases on both sides of 比.
A quick word on the negative
You do not negate 比 with 不 to say "not as tall as." Chinese has a dedicated negative comparison, A 没有 B (那么) + Adjective: 我没有你高 "I'm not as tall as you." (And 不比 does exist, but it means "no more … than," which is a different, subtler idea.) Keep this separate from the affirmative 比 you are learning here.
我没有你高。
wǒ méiyǒu nǐ gāo
I'm not as tall as you. — the negative of 比 is 没有, not 不比.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting 很 before the adjective. By far the most frequent 比 error, because 很 feels obligatory everywhere else. In a 比 sentence it is banned.
❌ 我比你很高。
Incorrect — no 很 in a 比 sentence; 比 already means 'more'.
✅ 我比你高。
wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo
I'm taller than you. — the adjective stands alone.
2. Adding 是 for the English "am/is". "I am taller" tempts learners to insert a copula. A plain 比 comparison has no 是.
❌ 我是比你高。
Incorrect — drop 是; a plain 比 comparison takes no copula.
✅ 我比你高。
wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo
I'm taller than you.
3. Wrong word order — adjective before 比 B. The quality always comes last, after both things.
❌ 我高比你。
Incorrect word order — the adjective 高 must come after 比你, not before it.
✅ 我比你高。
wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo
I'm taller than you.
4. Negating with 不 to mean 'not as … as'. Use 没有, not 不比.
❌ 我不比你高。
Wrong meaning — this says 'I'm no taller than you', not 'not as tall as you'; for the latter use 我没有你高.
✅ 我没有你高。
wǒ méiyǒu nǐ gāo
I'm not as tall as you. — the true negative comparison.
Key Takeaways
- The core pattern is A 比 B + Adjective: 我比你高 (I'm taller than you), 今天比昨天冷 (today is colder than yesterday).
- Read 比 as "compared to." The comparison lives entirely in 比; the adjective stays plain — there is no Chinese word for "-er / more."
- Never add 很 / 非常 / 太 before the adjective in a 比 sentence, and never add 是. This is the crux — see no 很 in a 比 sentence.
- A and B can be pronouns, nouns, or whole activities (坐地铁比开车快), as long as they sit on the same scale.
- The negative is not 不比 but A 没有 B + Adjective: 我没有你高.
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- The Cardinal Rule: No 很 in a 比 SentenceHSK 2 — The single most important 比 rule: never put 很 / 非常 / 太 before the adjective in a comparison. 她比我漂亮 is right; 她比我很漂亮 is wrong. 比 already means 'more', so degree adverbs clash — use 更/还 or a degree-of-difference phrase instead.
- Degree of Difference Goes After the AdjectiveHSK 2 — To say HOW MUCH more, put the amount AFTER the adjective: 高一点 (a bit taller), 高得多 / 高多了 (much taller), 大三岁 (three years older), 高三厘米 (3 cm taller). English fronts the amount; Chinese puts it last.
- 更 & 还 Inside a ComparisonHSK 3 — 更 (gèng) and 还 (hái) are the only two adverbs a 比 sentence allows, both meaning 'even more': 比你更高 (even taller than you), 比这个还贵 (even more expensive than this). 更 is neutral; 还 adds a note of surprise.
- Comparing Verbs and Actions with 比HSK 3 — 比 compares actions too. With a 得 complement, two orders work: 他比我跑得快 or 他跑得比我快 (he runs faster than me). With verbs of liking or wanting, add 更: 我比你更喜欢中国菜.
- How Chinese Compares ThingsHSK 1 — Mandarin compares by sentence structure, not word endings — no -er/-est. Four core frames: 比 for 'more than' (我比你高), 跟…一样 for 'as…as' (我跟你一样高), 没有 for 'not as…as' (我没有你高), and 最 for the superlative (最高).