▎不到, búdào, less than

 

Function 不到 is often followed by modifying a number, meaning ‘less than...’.

1 博物院的人說不到 6 歲的小孩子，不可以進去參觀。

Bówùyuàn de rén shuō búdào 6 suì de xiǎo háizi, bù kěyǐ jìnqù cānguān.

The museum staff say that children less than 6-years old cannot go inside (and visit).

2 這支手機不到五千塊，真便宜。

Zhè zhī shǒujī búdào wǔqiān kuài, zhēn piányí.

This cell phone is less than NT$5,000. That’s really cheap.

3 老師說成績不到 85 分，不可以申請獎學金。

Lǎoshī shuō chéngjī búdào 85 fēn, bù kěyǐ shēnqǐng jiǎngxuéjīn.

The teacher said that students with grades of less than 85 cannot apply for a scholarship.

4 他來台灣還不到半年，就認識了不少台灣朋友。

Tā lái Táiwān hái búdào bàn nián, jiù rènshì le bù shǎo Táiwān péngyǒu.

He has been in Taiwan less than half a year and he already has lots of Taiwanese friends.

5 昨天的作業那麼多，可是她不到一個小時就寫完了。

Zuótiān de zuòyè nàme duō, kěshì tā búdào yí ge xiǎoshí jiù xiěwán le.

There was all that homework yesterday, but she finished it in less than an hour.