---
title: "不如 (bùrú) in Chinese Grammar: Would be better to, With Examples"
description: "不如 (bùrú): would be better to; not as good as. 不如 compares and recommends the better option. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/buru"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 不如 bùrú

Would be better to; not as good as

不如 compares and recommends the better option.

## In stories

**不如**就叫‘齐天大圣’，和天一样大！”

[齐天大圣 · Great Sage Equal to Heaven](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/great-sage-equal-to-heaven-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-6#library-word-435-437) HSK 5

他后悔极了，抬头叹气：“我**不如**诸葛亮啊！”

[空城计 · The Empty Fort Strategy: Zhuge Liang's famous bluff](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-empty-fort-strategy-zhuge-liang#library-word-746-748) HSK 5

后来我想通了：反正睡不着，**不如**去便利店上夜班。

[欢迎光临 · The first night shift](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/the-first-night-shift#library-word-62-64) HSK 5

这时，太白金星走上前来：“陛下，**不如**给他一个小官，把他请到天上来。

[大闹地府 · Trouble in the Underworld](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/trouble-in-the-underworld-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-5#library-word-860-862) HSK 5

[Read 齐天大圣](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/great-sage-equal-to-heaven-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-6#library-word-435-437)

## More patterns

- [verb + 不/得 + result (potential) cannot / can (manage to) …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-c)
- [再也 + 不/没 never again; not any more](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/zaiye-bu)
- [如果/要是…就… if …, then …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/ruguo-jiu)
- [谁 + 也/都 + (V不C) no one / nothing: …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/shei-ye-neg-v)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [一 + measure word (+ noun) + 也/都 + 不/没 not a single …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/yi-cl-ye-bu)

## What does 不如 (bùrú) mean in Chinese?

Would be better to; not as good as. 不如 compares and recommends the better option.

## How common is 不如?

It comes up in 10 readings of the 392 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

No. It shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does; it doesn’t mark errors. Paste a sentence you wrote to see whether it uses the pattern you meant.

## More free tools

- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.