Comparing Things

Comparing things is something that we as people do pretty much all the time - which football team is better, what veg goes with chicken the best… you get the idea.

Describing one thing relative to a different thing

From a language-learning point of view I think the easiest concept to understand when it comes to comparing things would be to describe one thing in relation to another:

大文比(bei2)小明高。
Dai Man is taller than Siu Ming.

The word 比(bei2) is used in conjunction with the adjective (in the example above that’s 高) to compare the two things: 大文 and 小明. In this sentence structure, the thing that is being compared against is sandwiched between the word 比 and the adjective:

(Object A) + 比(bei2) + (Object B) + Adjective

Object A is the one that has more of the qualities it is being compared, and this is true for both positive and negative cases:

• 美國(mei5 gwok3)比英國(jing1 gwok3)大。
  The USA is larger than the UK.
• 老鼠(lou5 syu2)比獅子(si1 zi2)細嗎？
  Are mice smaller than lions?

In this form the adjective used cannot be negated, and we cannot just slab in a modifier in front of it to fine tune the strength either:

• 小明比大文不高。
• 老鼠比獅子非常細。

Relatively Speaking…

If between the speakers what’s being compared is clear then instead of repeating ourselves we can use the modifier 比較(bei2 gaau3) in front of the adjective:

大文比較高。
Dai Man is taller. (lit. Dai Man is relatively tall.) 老鼠比較細。
Mice are smaller. (lit. Mice are relatively small.)

Note

The word 比較 on its own is a also verb meaning ‘to compare’.

Advanced

In this usage the word 比較 can be shortened to just 較:

• 大文較高。
• 老鼠較細。

Going Colloquial

Using the sentence structure ……比…… can be considered on the formal side of things, and so in colloquial speech we can also use the word 過(gwo3) to show comparison:

大文高過小明。
Dai Man is taller than Siu Ming.

With 過 we can be more more flexible, so much that I think there needs to be a separate page specific for this topic.

Again similar to earlier with 比較, if what’s being compared is clear then we can add 啲(di1) behind the adjective (note the tone of the word 啲 here):

大文高啲。
Dai Man is taller. 老鼠細啲。
Mice are smaller.

By How Much?

If we want to say how much (or little) the comparison is, then we can add in the quantity at the end, after the adjective. Depending on how precise you want, we can put in an exact amount:

大文高過小明三厘米。
Dai Man is taller than Siu Ming by 3 centimetres.

Showing as Equals

It’s all great and good if one thing is comparatively better than another, but what if they are just as good? Or just as bad? Well there is this sentence structure that we can use:

(Thing A) + 跟(gan1)/和(wo4)/同(tung4) + (Thing B) + 一樣(jat1 joeng6)

Note 同 is used mainly in verbal speech and colloquial writings, whereas 跟 and 和 are mainly in more formal settings. Here is a basic example:

• 我的成績(sing4 zik1)和你的成績一樣。
  My score is the same as your score.

Note if we are saying the attribute of two different things are the same then we can skip out that part in the second thing, just so that we can avoid repeating ourselves:

• 香港(hoeng1 gong2)的時區(si4 keoi1)跟上海(soeng6 hoi2)(的)一樣。
  Hong Kong’s time zone is the same as Shanghai’s. The word 的 after 上海 is optional.

This pattern can be turned into a negative sentence by adding the negation modifier 不/唔 in front of 一樣:

• 香港嘅天氣(tin1 hei3)同上海嘅唔一樣。
  Hong Kong’s weather isn’t the same as Shanghai’s.

After the word 一樣, we can add in extra details to make clear in what way the two things are the same. This can be simply an adjective:

• 小美同小明一樣高。
  Siu Mei is just as tall as Siu Ming.
• 小美的成績和大文的一樣差(caa1) 。
  Siu Mei’s score is just as bad as Dai Man.

Or we can add a comma, and add in a whole subordinate clause afterwards., but note that unless you make it clear the subject of the subordinate is the object that’s being compared:

• 香港的天氣和上海的一樣，常常(soeng4 soeng4)下大雨。
  Hong Kong’s weather is the same as Shanghai, in that it often rains heavily.

References

As opposed to a proper reference, this thesis has a pretty good summary of how comparatives work in Cantonese in its introduction section. The structure of the comparative in Cantonese : a light verb approach - Lai, Yan Ki