Mandarin has many ways of expressing comparison. Some common expressions include 比 transcribed bǐmeaning than, 跟...一样 transcribed gēn… yíyàngmeaning the same as… and 像 transcribed xiàngmeaning like, as well as 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as…. In this post, we’re going to talk about how to use 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… to express comparison. For example:
有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as... is commonly used for questions and negation, like the examples above. The 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… structure is quite expressive. It can be used to compare not only noun phrases but also verb phrases. Are you ready for the challenge? Let’s get started!
How to compare two entities with 有 (yǒu, “as...as…”) in Mandarin Chinese?
Let’s start by comparing two entities (people, things, etc) in terms of their quality, e.g. who/what is bigger, richer, more expensive, etc. than the other. They can be simple nouns or noun phrases. Are you ready?
How to compare nouns and noun phrases?
As shown in the examples above, we can use the 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… structure to compare two things, which can be people, places, ideas, etc. Such a structure is commonly used in questions and negations. Here's another example:
If the answer is affirmative, you would use the 跟 transcribed gēn... 一样 transcribed yīyàngmeaning as...as… structure and say:
But if your answer is negative, you would use the 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… structure, but remember, the negation word for 有 transcribed yǒu is always 没 transcribed méi, not 不 transcribed bù. So, you say:
Did you notice that there is a in the sentence? We can also add modifiers (e.g., 这么 transcribed zhèmemeaning this and 那么 transcribed nàmemeaning that) to emphasize the degree of difference, though it is hard to translate “that” into English. Here’s how it works:
In these examples, 那么 transcribed nàmemeaning that doesn’t translate well into English, but you get the idea that the speaker emphasizes the degree of Shanghai’s hustle and bustle. And the second sentence (i.e., the answer) says that Beijing is not bustling to that degree.
How to compare verbs and verb phrases?
In addition to comparing nouns and noun phrases, you can compare verbs and verb phrases too. Take a look at the following examples, where the speaker is comparing “taking a taxi” and “taking the subway”:
If your answer is affirmative, you would also use the 跟 transcribed gēn ... 一样 transcribed yīyàngmeaning as...as… structure to answer the question, like this:
And if your answer is negative, then again, use 没有 transcribed méiyǒumeaning not to answer the question.
In the context where both speakers know they’re comparing something with taking the subway, the second part (i.e. the subway) can be omitted. They can simply say:
How to compare the actions of two entities with 有 (yǒu, “as...as…”) in Mandarin Chinese?
Now you’ve got the basic ideas, so let’s spice things up a little bit! We’re going to see how to use the 有 structure to compare actions of two entities, e.g., who runs faster, who cooks better, or who plays the piano better than the other. Here we go:
Let’s see this in more detail. When we use a modifier (usually an adverb) to describe an action, we need the "verb + 得 + modifier" structure. For example, in the following sentence, 很快 transcribed hěn kuàimeaning very fast is the modifier of 跑 transcribed pǎomeaning run. So, we add a 得 transcribed de to connect the two.
However, if the verb comes with an object, then we need to repeat the verb, like this: verb + object + verb + 得+ modifier. Here's an example:
In this example, 弹钢琴 transcribed tán gāngqínmeaning play the piano is a combination of a verb 弹 transcribed tánmeaning play and an object 钢琴 transcribed gāngqínmeaning piano, commonly known as a VO compound. Therefore, we need to repeat the verb 弹 transcribed tán after the object 钢琴 transcribed gāngqín, so we get 弹钢琴弹得 transcribed tán gāngqín tán de, followed by 很好 transcribed hěn hǎomeaning very well, which is the modifier.
So again, the same idea applies to the 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… structure as well. If we’re comparing two actions, we also need the “verb + 得+ modifier" structure. If the verb requires an object, then the same verb has to be repeated after the object, like this:
Or:
Similar to the basic structure, if your answer is positive, you would use the 跟 transcribed gēn......一样 transcribed yīyàngmeaning the same as…
And if your answer is negative, again, you would use 没有 transcribed méiyǒu for negation:
Or:
To sum up
Alright! So, that’s pretty much everything about how to use 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… for comparison!
Just to recap very quickly:
The 有 transcribed yǒumeaning as...as… structure itself is pretty straightforward, but what usually throws people off is the combination with the “verb + object + verb + 得 + modifier" structure. Remember to repeat the verb when you’re comparing the actions of two people. Now, I think it’s time to try out what you just saw! Check out our exercises here!
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