Grammar Topic

Comparison in Chinese Grammar

Choose the Chinese comparison structure by the relationship you want to express: bigger, equal, increasingly, or changing together.

Choose the structure by meaning

Common mix-ups

Looking for a specific comparison?

Open the complete reference when you need a particular comparison form.

Browse all comparison patterns (31)

Unequal comparisons

10 patterns

A 比 B + Adjective[A] bǐ [B] [ADJ]HSK 1

This is the core comparison sentence in Chinese: 'A is more [adjective] than B.' Drop the two things you're comparing on either side of 比, put the adjective at the end, and you're done — no 'than,' no copula, no 'more.' 比 carries all the comparative weight by itself.HSK 1

比 X 多 / 多了 + Numberbǐ ... duō / duō le ...HSK 2

Reach for this when you want to say one thing exceeds another by a specific amount — 'more than X by N.' This is the workhorse for spelling out the gap in a comparison: not just 'I have more books,' but 'I have ten more books than you.' The number always lands AFTER 多 or 多了, never before.HSK 2

比...多/大 + amount[A] bǐ [B] [ADJ] [AMOUNT]HSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to quantify exactly how much bigger or greater A is than B — 'A is more / bigger than B by [amount].' It extends the basic 比 comparison by tacking the gap on at the end.HSK 3-4

比...大bǐ... dàHSK 3-4

The bread-and-butter way to say 'X is bigger than Y' in Chinese.HSK 3-4

比...还...bǐ... hái...HSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to say 'X is even MORE [adjective] than Y' — pushing a comparison past the expected baseline.HSK 3-4

比...都高bǐ... dōu...HSK 2

Reach for this when you want to say someone or something tops the entire group — 'taller than all of them,' 'more expensive than every other one.' It's the basic 比 comparison plus 都, where 都 ('all') sweeps in everyone in the comparison set.HSK 2

比一个人聪明bǐ...HSK 1

The most basic Chinese comparison: 'A is more [ADJ] than B.' Reach for this anytime you want to say one thing beats another on some quality — smarter, taller, faster, cheaper.HSK 1

比你想象的要...bǐ nǐ xiǎngxiàng de yào ...HSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to tell someone their mental picture is off — usually understated — and the reality is bigger.HSK 3-4

比较 + Adjectivebǐjiào [ADJ]HSK 2

Reach for this when you want to soften an adjective into 'relatively' or 'fairly' — 比较便宜 means 'fairly cheap,' not 'cheapest.' It is the everyday hedge that lets you describe something without claiming an extreme.HSK 2

相比之下xiāngbǐ zhī xiàHSK 5-6

Drop 相比之下 at the start of a clause when you want to pivot from one situation to a contrasting one — 'by comparison,' 'in contrast.' It assumes the first situation has already been described and now you're flipping to the other side: 'Team A struggled.HSK 5-6

Equal or similar

11 patterns

像...一样xiàng... yíyàng...HSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to compare one thing to another — 'X is like Y / acts the same as Y.' 他像他爸爸一样高.HSK 3-4

Subject + 像 + ObjectxiàngHSK 1

Reach for this when you want to compare two things by saying one resembles the other — 'A looks like B,' 'A is like B.' The basic Chinese simile.HSK 1

A + 和 + B + 不一样A hé B bù yíyàngHSK 2

Reach for A 和 B 不一样 when you want to say two things are NOT the same — different in some way that matters.HSK 2

A + 比 + B + Adjective/Verb + ...bǐHSK 3-4

Reach for this whenever you compare two things — same as the basic 比 comparison, but extended so that after the adjective or verb you can specify HOW MUCH bigger the gap is.HSK 3-4

Subject + (不) + 一样(gēn/hé...) (bù) yīyàngHSK 1

Use 一样 when you want to say two or more things are the same — or, with 不, that they're different.HSK 1

X 不一样 / Y 不一样... bù yíyàng / ... gēn ... bù yíyàngHSK 2

Reach for this when you want to say 'X is different' — either standalone as a punchy contrast ('but this time, it's different') or in a comparison ('X is different from Y').HSK 2

和...一样hé... yíyàngHSK 1

Reach for this when you want to say two things are equivalent or alike — 'my phone is the same as yours,' 'she's just like her mom,' 'this restaurant is as good as that one.' 和 (or 跟) introduces what you're comparing to, and 一样 means 'the same.' You can stop there for a flat equivalence, or add an adjective after 一样 to specify what they're equally like ('equally tall').HSK 1

如同……rútóng...HSK 5-6

Reach for this when you want a polished, literary simile — 'like' or 'as if.' 如同 is the formal cousin of 像 and 像……一样, used heavily in essays, news features, and descriptive prose.HSK 5-6

就是...一样 (jiùshì...yíyàng) — 'just like...'jiù xiàng... yí yàngHSK 3-4

Reach for 就像...一样 when you want to draw an analogy — 'just like X.' The pattern wraps around the thing you're comparing to, signaling 'exactly the same as' or 'the same way as.' Common when teachers explain concepts ('learning Chinese is just like building a house'), when writers paint vivid descriptions ('the lake was smooth, just like a mirror'), and in everyday speech to make a point through comparison.HSK 3-4

比喻论证bǐyù lùnzhèng — jiù xiàng... / hǎobǐ...HSK 5-6

比喻论证 is the rhetorical move of arguing by analogy — using a concrete, familiar comparison to illuminate an abstract or unfamiliar claim.HSK 5-6

现在...不一样了xiànzài... bù yíyàng leHSK 1

Use this when you want to point out that the situation has changed — 'now it's different.' It compares an implied past against the present, with 现在 marking the present moment and 不一样了 carrying the change.HSK 1

Degree and intensification

5 patterns

不仅……更……bùjǐn... gèng...HSK 5-6

Reach for 不仅……更…… when one claim already says a lot and the second claim says even more — 'not only X, but even more so Y.' The 更 in the second clause is what makes this different from 不仅……而且……: it explicitly signals that the second point outweighs the first.HSK 5-6

堪比...kān bǐ...HSK 5-6

Reach for 堪比 when you want to elevate something by comparing it to a famously high standard — 'rivals / on par with / comparable to.' It's literary and slightly dramatic, common in headlines, reviews, and commentary: a budget gadget 堪比 high-end models, an amateur singer 堪比 a pro.HSK 5-6

比 + Number + 多 + Numberbǐ... duō...HSK 2

Reach for this when you want to compare two amounts and say exactly how much bigger one is — 'this is X more than that.' The amount of difference goes AFTER 多, not before.HSK 2

比...更...[A] bǐ [B] gèng [ADJ]HSK 3-4

Reach for 比...更...HSK 3-4

比起...，更...bǐqǐ [A]，[SUBJECT] gèng [ADJ/VERB]HSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to weigh two options side by side and say one of them matters more.HSK 3-4

Correlated change

5 patterns

越来越...yuèláiyuè...HSK 1

Reach for this when something is changing gradually in one direction over time — 'more and more X.' '天气越来越冷.' (The weather is getting colder and colder.) Use it for trends, slow build-ups, or anything that's drifting steadily up or down: prices rising, kids growing, traffic worsening, your Chinese improving.HSK 1

越...越...yuè... yuè...HSK 3-4

Reach for this when two things scale together — 'the more X, the more Y.' 越吃越想吃.HSK 3-4

一天比一天 + Adjectiveyī tiān bǐ yī tiān ...HSK 2

Reach for this when something is changing steadily, day after day, in the same direction.HSK 2

越是A，越Byuè shì... yuè...HSK 5-6

Reach for this when you want to flag a counterintuitive or proportional relationship — 'the more of A, the more B,' with extra emphasis on the type or category of A.HSK 5-6

越来越多的...yuèláiyuè duō de ...HSK 5-6

Reach for this when you want to describe a trend — a quantity that is growing over time.HSK 5-6

Comparison in Chinese Grammar

Choose the structure by meaning

Common mix-ups

比 vs 更

一样 vs 像

越来越 vs 越...越...

Looking for a specific comparison?

Unequal comparisons

Equal or similar

Degree and intensification

Correlated change

Other Grammar Topics