Once you can say 我比你高 "I'm taller than you," the natural next question is how much taller. Chinese answers this in a place that surprises English speakers: the amount goes after the adjective, at the very end of the sentence. English fronts it — "three years older," "a bit taller" — but Chinese does the reverse: 大三岁 (older by three years), 高一点 (taller by a bit). This final position is a dedicated slot, the "degree of difference," and it is where all quantification of a 比 comparison lives. Crucially, it is also the correct home for "much," which is why you never need the banned 很 (see no 很 in a 比 sentence).
The slot: A 比 B + Adjective + [how much]
Everything that expresses the size of the gap attaches to the end, right after the adjective. There are three flavours, from vague to exact:
| Size of gap | Form after adjective | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a little | 一点 / 一点儿 / 一些 | 高一点 — a bit taller |
| a lot | 得多 / 多了 | 高得多 / 高多了 — much taller |
| an exact amount | number + unit | 高三厘米 — 3 cm taller |
Small gaps: 一点(儿) and 一些
For "a bit more," append 一点 (yìdiǎn), its erhua form 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr), or the slightly softer 一些 (yìxiē). All three mean roughly the same small amount.
今天比昨天冷一点。
jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng yìdiǎn
Today is a little colder than yesterday. — the small gap 一点 sits after 冷.
这件衣服比那件贵一点儿。
zhè jiàn yīfu bǐ nà jiàn guì yìdiǎnr
This piece of clothing is a bit more expensive than that one. — erhua 一点儿 is common in speech.
新版本比旧的快一些。
xīn bǎnběn bǐ jiù de kuài yìxiē
The new version is somewhat faster than the old one. — 一些 is a touch softer than 一点.
Big gaps: 得多 and 多了
For "much more," the workhorse forms are 得多 (de duō) and 多了 (duō le), both attached after the adjective. 高得多 and 高多了 both mean "much taller"; 多了 is a touch more colloquial and conversational, 得多 slightly more measured. This is the slot where learners wrongly reach for 很 — resist it.
这个比那个贵得多。
zhège bǐ nàge guì de duō
This one is much more expensive than that one. — 'much' is 得多, right after 贵.
坐地铁比开车快多了。
zuò dìtiě bǐ kāichē kuài duō le
Taking the subway is much faster than driving. — 多了 is the colloquial 'a lot'.
他的中文比我好多了。
tā de Zhōngwén bǐ wǒ hǎo duō le
His Chinese is much better than mine. — 好多了, a very common spoken pattern.
Exact amounts: number + unit
When you know the precise gap, put the number and its unit after the adjective. This covers ages, prices, heights, weights, and more: 大三岁 (older by 3 years), 贵五块 (dearer by 5 kuai), 高三厘米 (taller by 3 cm), 重两公斤 (heavier by 2 kg).
Watch the "two" here: before a measure word it is 两 (liǎng), never 二 — so 大两岁, not 大二岁 (see 两 vs 二). And apply 一 tone sandhi where it appears.
我比他大两岁。
wǒ bǐ tā dà liǎng suì
I'm two years older than him. — the exact gap 两岁 comes last; note 两, not 二.
这件比那件贵五十块。
zhè jiàn bǐ nà jiàn guì wǔshí kuài
This one is fifty kuai more expensive than that one. — price gap after 贵.
弟弟比我高三厘米。
dìdi bǐ wǒ gāo sān límǐ
My little brother is three centimetres taller than me. — a measured gap in 厘米.
Common Mistakes
1. Fronting the amount, English-style. The gap goes after the adjective, never before it.
❌ 我比他两岁大。
Incorrect word order — the amount follows the adjective: 我比他大两岁.
✅ 我比他大两岁。
wǒ bǐ tā dà liǎng suì
I'm two years older than him.
2. Using 很 / 非常 to mean 'much'. "Much taller" is 高得多 or 高多了 — never 很高 inside 比.
❌ 这个比那个很贵。
Incorrect — for 'much more expensive' say 这个比那个贵得多, not 很贵.
✅ 这个比那个贵得多。
zhège bǐ nàge guì de duō
This one is much more expensive than that one.
3. Using 二 instead of 两 before a unit. For "two" in front of a measure word it must be 两.
❌ 姐姐比我大二岁。
Incorrect — before the unit 岁, 'two' is 两: 大两岁.
✅ 姐姐比我大两岁。
jiějie bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì
My older sister is two years older than me.
4. Adding 了 to an exact measure by analogy with 多了. With a number-plus-unit gap you don't tack on 了; 多了 is a fixed "much" phrase, not a general ending.
❌ 他比我高三厘米了。
Incorrect — drop the 了; the exact gap 三厘米 needs nothing after it.
✅ 他比我高三厘米。
tā bǐ wǒ gāo sān límǐ
He's three centimetres taller than me.
Key Takeaways
- The "how much" of a comparison goes after the adjective: 高一点 (a bit taller), 高得多 / 高多了 (much taller), 大三岁 (three years older).
- English fronts the amount ("three years older"); Chinese puts it last (大三岁). This reversal is the main thing to internalize.
- "A little" = 一点 / 一点儿 / 一些; "a lot" = 得多 / 多了; an exact gap = number + unit (贵五块, 高三厘米).
- "Much" lives in this after-slot as 得多 / 多了 — this is why the banned 很 is never needed.
- Before a unit, "two" is 两, not 二: 大两岁, not *大二岁.
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- The 比 Comparative: A 比 B + AdjectiveHSK 1 — The core Chinese comparison is A 比 B + Adjective — 我比你高 (I'm taller than you). 比 means 'compared to', the two things flank it, and the adjective stays plain with no word for '-er'.
- 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.
- 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.
- 二 vs 两HSK 1 — Chinese has two words for 'two': 二 (èr) is the counting digit — used in ordinals, tens, years and decimals — while 两 (liǎng) means 'two of something' before a measure word and before 千/万/亿.