{"id":17044,"date":"2022-05-26T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=17044"},"modified":"2022-05-25T00:50:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T04:50:38","slug":"beijing-vs-shanghai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/beijing-vs-shanghai\/","title":{"rendered":"Beijing vs. Shanghai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Beijing and Shanghai are the two biggest and most famous Chinese cities. One is an ancient city known for its cultural icons, while the other is a modern metropolis full of futuristic skyscrapers. So which city is better? Well, you&#8217;ll just have to visit them both and decide for yourself! This post is actually all about making comparisons in Chinese. The Beijing vs. Shanghai debate is a good place to begin this lesson, though. Let&#8217;s start with a question&#8230;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12410\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12410\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12410\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions-350x250.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beijing vs Shanghai<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">\u5317\u4eac\u6bd4\u4e0a\u6d77\u597d\u5417\uff1f<br \/>\nb\u011bi j\u012bng b\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei h\u01ceo ma<br \/>\nIs Beijing better than Shanghai?<\/h3>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s break down the question:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>Beijing (\u5317\u4eac b\u011bi j\u012bng)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>compare (\u6bd4 b\u01d0)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>Shanghai (\u4e0a\u6d77 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>good (\u597d h\u01ceo)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>question word (\u5417 ma)<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you can see, it&#8217;s pretty easy to form the question:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">Subject 1 + \u6bd4 + Subject 2 + Adjective + Question word<\/h3>\n<p>Now, how could you answer the question? Well, it depends on which side you&#8217;re on! Because I lived in Beijing for five years, of course I&#8217;d say&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">\u5317\u4eac\u6bd4\u4e0a\u6d77\u597d<br \/>\nb\u011bi j\u012bng b\u01d0 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei h\u01ceo<br \/>\nBeijing is better than Shanghai.<\/h3>\n<p>However, some of my friends who call Shanghai home might disagree:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">\u5317\u4eac\u6ca1\u6709\u4e0a\u6d77\u597d<br \/>\nb\u011bi j\u012bng m\u00e9i y\u01d2u sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei h\u01ceo<br \/>\nBeijing isn&#8217;t better than Shanghai.<\/h3>\n<p>As you can see, to answer the question positively, you simply drop the question word \u5417, and to answer negatively, you simply replace \u6bd4 with \u6ca1\u6709, meaning &#8220;no.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9558\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9558\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9558\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2013\/11\/DSC_0065.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2013\/11\/DSC_0065.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2013\/11\/DSC_0065-350x235.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My vote goes to Beijing&#8230;<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If you can&#8217;t travel to both Beijing and Shanghai to decide which one you like more, you can at least check them both out through some of our blog posts and videos! Here are a few of my favorites from over the years:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/a-perfect-day-in-beijing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Perfect Day in Beijing<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/famous-beijing-landmarks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Famous Beijing Landmarks<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/beijing-kao-ya\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Beijing Kao Ya: A Delectable Duck<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/cheap-eats-in-shanghai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cheap Eats in Shanghai<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/better-know-a-municipality-part-two\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Better Know a Municipality &#8211; Shanghai<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/a-short-trip-in-shanghai-part-one\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Short Trip in Shanghai<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p2\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Exploring Beijing&#039;s Central Axis\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-EQrm3l3l_4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ok that&#8217;s enough of the Beijing vs. Shanghai debate for today. Let&#8217;s get on with the grammar lesson! Here are a few more examples of basic comparisons in Chinese using the character \u6bd4:<\/p>\n<h3>\u4ed6\u6bd4\u6211\u5fd9<br \/>\nt\u0101 b\u01d0 w\u01d2 m\u00e1ng<br \/>\nHe&#8217;s busier than me.<\/h3>\n<h3>\u7bee\u7403\u6bd4\u4e52\u4e53\u7403\u6709\u610f\u601d<br \/>\nl\u00e1n qi\u00fa b\u01d0 p\u012bng p\u0101ng qi\u00fa y\u01d2u y\u00ec si<br \/>\nBasketball is more interesting than ping pong.<\/h3>\n<h3>\u5496\u5561\u6bd4\u8336\u597d\u559d<br \/>\nk\u0101 f\u0113i b\u01d0 ch\u00e1 h\u01ceo h\u0113<br \/>\nCoffee tastes better than tea.<\/h3>\n<h3>\u6211\u54e5\u54e5\u6bd4\u6211\u9ad8<br \/>\nw\u01d2 g\u0113 ge b\u01d0 w\u01d2 g\u0101o<br \/>\nMy older brother is taller than me.<\/h3>\n<h3>\u82f9\u679c\u6bd4\u9999\u8549\u8d35<br \/>\np\u00edng gu\u01d2 b\u01d0 xi\u0101ng ji\u0101o gu\u00ec<br \/>\nThe apples are more expensive than the bananas.<\/h3>\n<p>When making comparisons, you can be more specific. Let&#8217;s go back to the last example to see how to do that. Imagine you are shopping in the supermarket here in China and you see these signs:<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left\">Apples &#8211; 15 RMB\/1 jin (\u82f9\u679c\u5341\u4e94\u5757\u4e00\u65a4 p\u00edng gu\u01d2 sh\u00ed w\u01d4 ku\u00e0i y\u012b j\u012bn)<br \/>\nBananas &#8211; 10 RMB\/1 jin (\u9999\u8549\u5341\u5757\u4e00\u65a4 xi\u0101ng ji\u0101o sh\u00ed ku\u00e0i y\u012b j\u012bn)<\/h4>\n<p>Well, you could just say, &#8220;the apples are more expensive than the bananas,&#8221; but you could also say&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">The apples cost 5 RMB more than the bananas.<br \/>\n\u82f9\u679c\u6bd4\u9999\u8549\u8d35\u4e94\u5757.<br \/>\np\u00edng gu\u01d2 b\u01d0 xi\u0101ng ji\u0101o gu\u00ec w\u01d4 ku\u00e0i<\/h3>\n<p>Here&#8217;s another example of a more specific comparison:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">I&#8217;m 36 years old. My brother is 30 years old.<br \/>\n\u6211\u4e09\u5341\u516d\u5c81\u3002 \u6211\u5f1f\u5f1f\u4e09\u5341\u5c81\u3002<br \/>\nw\u01d2 s\u0101n sh\u00ed li\u00f9 su\u00ec. w\u01d2 d\u00ec d\u00ec s\u0101n sh\u00ed su\u00ec.<\/h3>\n<p>So, I can say&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">I&#8217;m 5 years older than my brother.<br \/>\n\u6211\u6bd4\u6211\u5f1f\u5f1f\u5927\u4e94\u5c81.<br \/>\nw\u01d2 b\u01d0 w\u01d2 d\u00ec d\u00ec d\u00e0 w\u01d4 su\u00ec<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_7658\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7658\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7658\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/06\/DSC_0329.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/06\/DSC_0329.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/06\/DSC_0329-350x234.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-7658\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My brother and I in Yangshuo, Guangxi Province. Photo taken and used with permission by Sasha Savinov.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Here are some more examples of making comparisons in Chinese in a video I made a while back:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\" style=\"text-align: center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Making Comparisons in Chinese\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7j4E9jIY2xA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Take what you&#8217;ve learned in this post and try to practice! Make three comparisons in Chinese, and try to answer this question as well:<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left\">\u4e2d\u6587\u6bd4\u82f1\u6587\u96be\u5417\uff1f<br \/>\nzh\u014dng w\u00e9n b\u01d0 y\u012bng w\u00e9n n\u00e1n ma<br \/>\nIs Chinese more difficult than English?<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions-350x250.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions-350x250.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2016\/07\/1-Conjunctions.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Beijing and Shanghai are the two biggest and most famous Chinese cities. One is an ancient city known for its cultural icons, while the other is a modern metropolis full of futuristic skyscrapers. So which city is better? Well, you&#8217;ll just have to visit them both and decide for yourself! This post is actually all&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/beijing-vs-shanghai\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":12410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8852,547385,13],"tags":[2663,8677],"class_list":["post-17044","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-grammar","category-travel-geography","category-vocabulary","tag-beijing","tag-shanghai"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17044"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17046,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17044\/revisions\/17046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}