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PrepositionsHSK 4

Expressing "less than" with 不到

Use 不到 before a number to express "less than" or "under". Place it after the subject and before the number-quantity phrase. Be careful not to confuse it with a verb complement indicating inability to achieve a result.

Structure

Subj. + 不到 + Number + (Measure Word) + Noun

Examples

  • 我女儿不到三岁。
    Wǒ nǚ'ér bùdào sān suì.
    My daughter is not yet three years old.
  • 我昨天睡了不到五个小时。
    Wǒ zuótiān shuì le bùdào wǔ gè xiǎoshí.
    Yesterday I slept for almost five hours.
  • 这件衣服花了不到一百块。
    Zhè jiàn yīfu huā le bùdào yī bǎi kuài.
    On this piece of clothing I spent less than 100 RMB.
  • 我家到公司不到五百米。
    Wǒ jiā dào gōngsī bùdào wǔ bǎi mǐ.
    My house is less than 500 meters from the office.
  • 在美国，不到21岁不能喝酒。
    Zài Měiguó, bùdào èrshí-yī suì, bù néng hējiǔ.
    In the US, if you're under 21 you can't drink alcohol.

Words that use this