▎不太, bútài, not very

 

Function The pattern ‘不太＋state verb’ expresses a polite, toned-down negation, when compared with a plain Neg＋Vs pattern, similar to English ‘not terribly...’.

1 A：騎機車去旅行太累了吧。

Qí jīchē qù lǚxíng tài lèi le ba.

Traveling by motorcycle is too tiring.

B：我覺得騎車去不太累，很好玩。

Wǒ juéde qí chē qù bútài lèi, hěn hǎowán.

I don’t think going by motorcycle is too tiring. It’s a lot of fun.

2 A：高鐵票很貴，我們坐公車比較好。

Gāotiě piào hěn guì, wǒmen zuò gōngchē bǐjiào hǎo.

The HSR tickets are expensive. Why don’t we take the bus?

B：高鐵票不太貴！

Gāotiě piào bútài guì!

The HSR tickets are not terribly expensive.

 

3 A：多穿一點衣服。

Duō chuān yìdiǎn yīfú.

You should put on some more clothes.

B：今天不太冷！

Jīntiān bútài lěng!

It is not terribly cold today.

 

Structures

Questions：

1 放假的時候，高鐵票是不是不太好買？

Fàngjià de shíhòu, gāotiě piào shìbúshì bútài hǎo mǎi?

HSR tickets are not all that easy to buy during the holidays, right?

2 去西班牙的飛機是不是不太多？

Qù Xībānyá de fēijī shìbúshì bútài duō?

Are there not many flights to Spain?

3 台灣的秋天和日本的秋天是不是不太一樣？

Táiwān de qiūtiān hàn Rìběn de qiūtiān shìbúshì bútài yíyàng?

Are autumns in Taiwan and autumns in Japan not all that similar?

 

Usage

(1) 不太bútài＋Vs:

不太 has basically lost its literal meaning and simply means ‘not very’. Depending on the context, 不太 can be used negatively or in a polite fashion.

1 這杯茶不太熱。 (1. Just the right temperature. 2. Not hot enough for me.)

Zhè bēi chá bútài rè.

This cup of tea is not very hot.

2 他的咖啡賣得不太好。(concerned)

Tā de kāfēi mài de bútài hǎo.

His coffee is not selling all that well.

3 今天不太冷，你不必穿那麼多。(comforting)

Jīntiān bútài lěng, nǐ búbì chuān nàme duō.

It’s not so cold today. You don’t need to wear that much.

(2) 不很bùhěn＋Vs: 不很 on the other hand is not as common as 不太. It is related in meaning to 不是很, which is also glossed as ‘not very’, causing confusion. Note that 不很 is more factual and straightforward, without any polite overtone.