比一比
Bǐ yi bǐ — Comparisons
One small word replaces English’s entire apparatus of “-er,” “more than” and “the most.” The 比 pattern is simple, rigid and enormously useful — and it appears constantly from here to Grade 8.
The pattern, and the trap
A 比 B + adjective. Nothing else moves, and the adjective never changes shape:
我比你高。 I’m taller than you. (“I compared-to you tall”)
今天比昨天热。 Today is hotter than yesterday.
The trap: the 很 that normally sits before an adjective must be dropped. 我比你很高 is wrong. This is the single most common error in the unit.
Unit objectives
- Compare two things using 比, without 很
- Say two things are the same with 一样
- Use 最 for superlatives — the biggest, the best
- Write five comparisons about their own life
Key vocabulary
比 最 一样 更 大 小 长 短 快 慢
More, less, most, same
A 比 B
The basic pattern, drilled with real objects the class can hold up and compare.
Exactly the same
一样 for equality, and 不一样 for difference without saying which is more.
The most
最 for superlatives — the tallest in the class, the best food, the longest river.
Compare two cities
Using Unit 2’s geography: five written comparisons between two Chinese cities, with real data.
Why this unit gets its own slot
Comparison looks like a small grammar point, but it’s the structural backbone of everything the upper grades ask for. Grade 6 needs it to state a preference with a reason. Grade 7 needs it to describe how a place has changed. Grade 8’s entire debate unit is built on comparing two positions. A student who can produce a clean 比 sentence without thinking has a tool they will use in every remaining year of the program — so it’s worth drilling past the point where it feels finished.
Unit 5 progress check
A light, no-pressure way to see what’s sticking:
- Can your child compare two things correctly?
- Do they drop 很 in a 比 sentence?
- Can they use 最 for “the most”?
The dropped 很 is the thing to watch. Everything else in the unit is straightforward.