比 (bǐ) · to compare, than, ratio

Meanings

1 to compare
2 than
3 ratio
4 to gesture
5 (score) to

Characters

比

bǐ

to compare; ratio

Examples

HSK 1

今天比昨天热。

Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān rè.

Today is hotter than yesterday.

HSK 1

比分是三比二。

Bǐfēn shì sān bǐ èr.

The score is 3 to 2.

HSK 2

他比我高。

Tā bǐ wǒ gāo.

He is taller than me.

Tips

grammar

Comparison structure is A 比 B + adjective. Unlike English, the adjective does not change form: 他比我高 means 'he is taller than me' - bare 高 carries the 'taller' sense.

mistakes

Never put 很, 更 or 非常 in front of the adjective in a 比 sentence. To express degree, put it AFTER: 他比我高很多 ('much taller') or 高一点 ('a bit taller').

register

Capitalised 比 on its own is the standard abbreviation for 比利时 (Belgium) in news headlines, sports scoreboards and country lists - e.g. 中比建交 'China-Belgium establish relations'. A separate slang reading bī is an internet euphemism for the vulgar 屄; you will meet it in chat or memes (e.g. 牛比 standing in for 牛屄 'awesome / badass'), but it is non-standard and unrelated to the 'compare' meaning.

Components

radical

匕 bǐ

spoon; ladle; person bent forward

Right half - the second of the two side-by-side figures. 比 is filed under itself as Kangxi radical #81 (it indexes a tiny family including 毕, 昆 and 毙). Although both halves are the same 匕, together they freeze the act of standing one beside another for measurement.

semantic

匕 bǐ

spoon; ladle; person bent forward

Left half - a stylised kneeling person facing right. The component 匕 on its own means 'spoon' but here it acts as a human silhouette. Two of these placed side by side give the literal picture of 'comparison', the same compounding logic as 林 (two trees = forest).

Radical

Compare Kangxi #81

Two figures placed side by side, the original picture of 'comparison'. As an indexing radical 比 hosts very few characters, the most common being 毕 (finish), 毗 (border on), and 毙 (die / shoot dead). The standalone meaning is dominant, making 比 a high-frequency function word more than a productive radical.