▎沒有, méi yǒu, as used in Inferior Comparison

 

Function The ‘A 沒有 B (那麼nàme/這麼zhème)...’ pattern is used to compare two things A & B and is used to indicate that A is not as (adjective) as B.

1 哥哥沒有爸爸高。

Gēge méi yǒu bàba gāo.

My older brother is not as tall as my dad.

2 火車沒有高鐵快。

Huǒchē méi yǒu gāotiě kuài.

The train is not as fast as the High Speed Rail.

3 我的中文沒有老師那麼好。

Wǒ de Zhōngwén méi yǒu lǎoshī nàme hǎo.

My Chinese is not as good as my teacher’s.

4 這次的颱風沒有上次那麼可怕。

Zhè cì de táifēng méi yǒu shàng cì nàme kěpà.

This typhoon is not as scary as the last one.

 

Structures Note that this pattern is typically used in the negative, 沒(有) méi(yǒu). Sometimes, 那麼nàme or 這麼zhème can be omitted. Its positive counterpart is rarely used, except in 嗎 questions.

Questions：The A-not-A pattern is used for questions.

1 妹妹有沒有姊姊那麼漂亮？

Mèimei yǒu méi yǒu jiějie nàme piàoliàng?

Is the younger sister as pretty as the older sister?

2 花蓮的房租有沒有臺北的那麼貴？

Huālián de fángzū yǒu méi yǒu Táiběi de nàme guì?

Is rent in Hualien as expensive as in Taipei?

3 日本的工作有沒有美國的那麼難找？

Rìběn de gōngzuò yǒu méi yǒu Měiguó de nàme nán zhǎo?

Are jobs in Japan as hard to find as in the US?

4 夏天的天氣有沒有春天的舒服？

Xiàtiān de tiānqì yǒu méi yǒu chūntiān de shūfú?

Is the weather in the summer as pleasant as that in the spring?

 

Usage This pattern indicates that A is not as (adjective) as B, thus inferior so to speak. When A and B are the same, use the ‘equal degree’ pattern, i.e. ‘A 跟gēn B 一樣yíyàng…’. The pattern for ‘superior degree’ is ‘A 比bǐ B…’. When you ask a question like 今天有沒有昨天熱？Jīntiān yǒu méi yǒu zuótiān rè? ‘Is today as hot as yesterday?’, it is assumed that yesterday was quite hot. Three different responses to this question are possible as shown below:

1 今天跟昨天一樣熱。／(equal degree)

Jīntiān gēn zuótiān yíyàng rè.

Today is as hot as yesterday.

2 今天沒有昨天那麼熱。／(inferior degree)

Jīntiān méi yǒu zuótiān nàme rè.

Today is not as hot as yesterday.

3 今天比昨天熱。／(superior degree)

Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān rè.

Today is hotter than yesterday.