Discussion of 不大 [bú dà] not big; not very...

Discussion of 不大

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不大 and 不太 shares a meaning “not very, not so”. In this post, we discuss how to use them and their differences.

不大 and 不太 are used before an adjective (we use the letter A to symbolise this adjective).

1. When used in this structure “不太＋ A”, the adjective A can be divided into two groups:
First of all, A can be an adjective expressing a positive meaning (不太好、不太干净、不太舒服…) or a neutral meaning (不太小，不太高，不太低…).
Secondly, A can also be an adjective expressing a negative meaning (不太累、不太难)

2. On the hand, when we use “不大＋ A”, the adjective A can ONLY be an adjective expressing a positive meaning or a neutral meaning. We can replace 不太 with 不大 in all the phrases below:
不太好 = 不大好、不太干净＝不大干净、不太舒服＝不大舒服、不太小＝不大小、不太高＝不大高、不太低＝不大低
不大 cannot be used before an adjective expressing a negative meaning (It is wrong to say: ＊不大累、＊不大难)

lisaC

Could you provide an example sentence using 不大 (bú dà)?

个学生

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