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比不上 (bǐ bù shàng) — cannot compare to; not as good as; cannot match

Definition

比不上 is a resultative verb meaning 'cannot compare to / not as good as' — used to say A falls short of B. Unlike 没有 (no more than), it highlights a gap in quality.

verb
cannot compare tonot as good ascannot match

Examples

  • 比不上。
    Wǒ de shōu rù bǐ bù shàng tā de.
    My income can't compare to his.
  • 比不上。
    Zhè ge shǒu jī de xìng néng wán quán bǐ bù shàng nà ge xīn kuǎn.
    This phone's performance is completely no match for that new model.
  • 比不上。
    Nǐ de hàn yǔ shuǐ píng yǐ jīng bǐ bù shàng hěn duō zhōng guó xué shēng le.
    Your Chinese level is already comparable to that of many Chinese students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

比bǐcompare
不上not reach
不bùnot上shàngreach
偏正Modifier + head

“比” gives compare, “不” gives not, and “上” gives reach, so cannot match.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

  • 匕匕bǐ
  • 匕匕bǐ

比 is two 匕 placed side by side. Chu Wan-li treats both as sound parts, while an old reading takes the side-by-side arrangement as putting things next to each other.

Open 比 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →
Appears in
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