# 比 with 更 or 还: 100 Bible Comparisons

> The marked comparative 比 … 更/还 occurs in 100 clauses of the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), with the two things compared on either side of 比 and the quality last.

**Pattern:** A + 比 + B + adjective
**HSK level:** 1 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 比 with a word before it and 更 or 还 within four words after it — the marked comparative.
**Confidence:** counted — 30 of 100 matches checked, 100% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

A Chinese comparison needs no word for than and no comparative ending. A 比 B then the quality: 比雪更白, whiter than snow. Everything that English marks with -er or more is carried by the position of the two nouns and, usually, by 更 or 还 in front of the adjective.

That 更 is what this count requires, and the reason is worth stating. 比 is also one of the commonest syllables in transliterated names — 比拿雅, 亚比米勒, 比加 — and the segmenter splits a name into syllables, so the first version of this rule returned Benaiah and Abimelech more often than it returned a comparison. Requiring the degree adverb finds fewer comparisons than exist and gets the ones it finds right.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 比 629 times. 529 of those occurrences are the same words doing something else.

The rule is: 比 with a word before it and 更 or 还 within four words after it — the marked comparative. 30 of its 100 matches were drawn at random and checked one by one; 100% were right. Recall is not measured, so the figure is what this rule finds, not everything the translation contains.

## Examples

- **Ezekiel 8:15** — 他对我说：「人子啊，你看见了吗？你还要看见比这更可憎的事。」
  - tā duì wǒ shuō ：「 rén zǐ a ， nǐ kàn jiàn le ma ？ nǐ hái yào kàn jiàn bǐ zhè gèng kě zēng de shì 。」
  - Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? You will again see yet greater abominations than these.”
  - construction: 比这更
- **John 14:12** — 我实实在在地告诉你们，我所做的事，信我的人也要做，并且要做比这更大的事，因为我往父那里去。
  - wǒ shí shí zài zài de gào sù nǐ men ， wǒ suǒ zuò de shì ， xìn wǒ de rén yě yào zuò ， bìng qiě yào zuò bǐ zhè gèng dà de shì ， yīn wèi wǒ wǎng fù nà li qù 。
  - Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father.
  - construction: 比这更
- **Exodus 1:9** — 对他的百姓说：「看哪，这以色列民比我们还多，又比我们强盛。
  - duì tā de bǎi xìng shuō ：「 kàn nǎ ， zhè yǐ sè liè mín bǐ wǒ men hái duō ， yòu bǐ wǒ men qiáng shèng 。
  - He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
  - construction: 比我们还
- **Job 33:25** — 他的肉要比孩童的肉更嫩； 他就返老还童。
  - tā de ròu yào bǐ hái tóng de ròu gèng nèn ；  tā jiù fǎn lǎo huán tóng 。
  - His flesh will be fresher than a child’s. He returns to the days of his youth.
  - construction: 比孩童的肉更
- **Matthew 12:6** — 但我告诉你们，在这里有一人比殿更大。
  - dàn wǒ gào sù nǐ men ， zài zhè lǐ yǒu yì rén bǐ diàn gèng dà 。
  - But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
  - construction: 比殿更
- **Psalms 61:2** — 我心里发昏的时候， 我要从地极求告你。 求你领我到那比我更高的磐石！
  - wǒ xīn li fā hūn de shí hou ，  wǒ yào cóng dì jí qiú gào nǐ 。  qiú nǐ lǐng wǒ dào nà bǐ wǒ gèng gāo de pán shí ！
  - From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
  - construction: 比我更

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 比 | bǐ | 1 | 629 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 1.

## What those occurrences are doing

|  | Occurrences | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the construction | 100 | 16% |
| the same words doing something else | 529 | 84% |

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Luke | 10 |
| Matthew | 9 |
| Psalms | 8 |
| Ezekiel | 7 |
| Job | 7 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Questions

**Can a comparison leave out 更?**

Yes — 你比我公义, you are more righteous than I, has no degree adverb at all. Those are real comparisons and this count deliberately misses them, because there is no way to tell them from a proper name without reading each one.

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

100 clauses in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), out of 629 occurrences of the words that mark it.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Luke, with 10 — followed by Matthew (9), Psalms (8), Ezekiel (7).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The rule is: 比 with a word before it and 更 or 还 within four words after it — the marked comparative. 30 of its 100 matches were drawn at random and checked one by one; 100% were right. Recall is not measured, so the figure is what this rule finds, not everything the translation contains.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/bi-comparison

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