# 不太 / 不很



## SpyFire

For example, what's the difference in meaning between these two sentences?

1) 他不太忙。
2) 他不很忙。


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## xiaolijie

Welcome to the forum, SpyFire.

The difference between the two (in the negaitve) is very subtle, and I'd say that for a learner, "不太忙" is the one to use,  and to explore the use of 不很忙 only when you've reached a fairly advanced stage of your Chinese learning. 
( But still, I hope someone else may be able to find some uncomplicated way to explain the difference for you )


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## YangMuye

“他不太忙”, which is the negative form of “他太忙”, seems not to conflict with “他不忙” logically. But it actually means “他有点忙”, never “他不忙”.

Expressions such as extent, degree and quantity can't be negated directly. (The logical negative is more or less useless from the communication's point of view). So we don't often say “他不很忙”.


But some adverbs or structures may use their negative forms as another adverbs. You may think them as semi-negatives.
e.g.
不太…
不如…
不像…一样
不像…那么


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## SpyFire

Thanks to both of you. YangMuye, your answer did clarify things a bit. I appreciate your help.


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## Jin.Isabelking

well, if you have the patient to read Chinese....
“他不太忙”，这句话一般用于口语，口语中不常说“他不很忙”，虽然也能理解意思，但很少有人会这样进行口语表达，说“他不是很忙”可能更符合口头表达习惯。
“太”和“很”都是表示程度的词，“很”字的意思一般是指“非常”，“太”字的意思除了“非常”之外，还包括了“过分”的意思，“太”字里容易包括说话人个人的主观情绪。“很”则显得稍微客观。
此外，“很”既然是“非常”的意思，代表着它必定有一个参考标准。“太”则没有这样的参考标准，多数情况都是由说话人自身去进行衡量的。


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## OLIVIER783

_他不很忙 sounds wired. 他不是很忙 is OK. _
Donc, je vous donne une condition où nous pouvons utiliser cette expression-là. (D'ailleurs, on a pas mal de façon à exprimer le même sens.)
E.P. on demande：他最近忙吗？
            on peux répondre comme 他（最近）*不是很忙*。ou 他（最近）*不太忙*。ou 他（最近）*不怎么忙*。 (ça signifie qu'il n'est pas *très/particulièrement *occupé/pris.)
Alors, C'est à dire, si vous changiez 他不很忙 en 他不是很忙，ces deux expressions auraient les même sens.


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## ThePellican

您们好！
I started studying Chinese 3 weeks ago, now we are studying its adjective  and I don't know whether I've understood everything well enough 
So if I want to say that someone is busy, I'll say "她很忙。”
I need to add 很 otherwise I'd be comparing someone with someone else.
So, do I always need to add 很 if I'm not comparing anything ?
Furthermore, I know that I don't need to add 很 in questions, as in “你忙吗？”
Now my question is, what do I need to add in negative sentences ? 很 or 太？ 
(Some friends of mine who have studied Chinese for 3 years have told me that in negative sentences I have to use 太, but I've never heard my teacher use it in negative sentences the way she uses 很 in positive ones)

谢谢您们！


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## tulee

You should be able to directly say "我不忙“。 There is no need to add 太 or 很 since 不 already separates the pronoun and the adjective.

Note, 我不忙 only makes sense if someone has asked you if you are busy. Otherwise there is very little reason to use this phrase (in my opinion as a learner of chinese aswell).


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## retrogradedwithwind

I think tulee is right. 
But language is a very complicated and paradoxical thing, so I as a Chinese cannot safely say 我不忙 is used only in that way.

她忙 is OK in certain context. 
——她忙吗？
——她忙。

Or, 她忙，你别打扰她。
.........

Oh, I forget you just have  learnt Chinese for three weeks. For beginners, inserting 很（太） into 她忙 is always right for the most occasions.
她不忙，她不很忙，她不太忙， all are OK.


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## ThePellican

Thank you both for the answers , basically all of the three are correct... Without any differences among them?
Moreover, doesn't 太 have the same meaning as 很 in negative sentences ?
E.g. : 我很忙 I'm busy 
我不太忙 I'm not busy , or should I say 我不忙 as Tulee suggested ?


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## retrogradedwithwind

Of course there are differences, ThePellican.

她忙 busy 
她很忙 busy or very busy 
她太忙 very busy 
她不忙 not busy 
她不很忙 not very busy 
她不太忙 not very busy or actually not busy at all 

But those differences are not obvious and heavily rely on context and the tone when those words are uttered.


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## ThePellican

谢谢您！ 
Basically, it was just a question about the use of 很 and 太 and the fact that sentences without them are used to compare thing ( my teacher has though us that if I omit 很 as in 我忙 as an answer to the question 你忙吗？it means that I'm busy in comparison to you)


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## YangMuye

ThePellican said:


> I need to add 很 otherwise I'd be comparing someone with someone else.


I must say this is misleading. Just by omitting 很 will not make the sentence sound like a comparison or something. You do not use 很 in comparison context, but that does not meaning leaving out 很 implies such context.

The use of 很 is tricky. 很 does not mean “very”. It has no meaning and just used as a dummy degree adverb. Sometimes it is obligatory, sometimes it is can be omitted, and sometimes it must be omitted.
Generally speaking, you use 很 to draw the listener's attention to a particular characteristic, or its degree. It is usually preferred in a sentence that can stand by itself. If you do not add 很, it does not sound like a complete sentence and the listener will not be able to understand your intention, thus just staring at you waiting. Sometimes when the context is clear as in [1-2], you may omit 很, but I still recommend you not to.



			
				retrogradedwithwind  said:
			
		

> [1]  ——她忙吗？——她(很)忙/她不忙/她有点忙/...
> [2] 她(很)忙，(所以)你别打扰她。



不 has a similar function as 很. It is uncommon to put adverbs in between 不 and the verb. But we have some exceptions. 不太 is often used as softener in negative sentences. When you say 不太忙, you basically mean you are not busy, but you do not want to sound like you are free.

Occasionally, 不 is integrated into another word, and can be modified by 很, for example, 很不正常 and 很不错.  However, we do not say 很不贵 or 很不忙, but rather 很便宜 and 很闲. 不正常 and 不错 are more or less used as adjectives.


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## Skatinginbc

There is no clear-cut distinction between verbs and adjectives in   Chinese.  In some contexts they behave more like a verb  and in other  contexts more like an adjective.  For instance, 她忙, 你别打扰她: 
 verb-like interpretation: 她忙(着做事), 你别打扰她。
adjective-like interpretation: 她(很)忙, 你别打扰她。
To  tell the subtle nuances apart,  Chinese speakers resort to such linguistic  clues as 很, which is often  used to mark a predicative adjective (e.g,  花很红; 你很忙; 我很高兴)(as opposed to  the more verb-like 花红了; 你忙你的; 我高兴, 我喜欢,  我爱这样, 你又能把我怎么样). 

很  literally means "very" and 太 means "too" (e.g, 太忙 "too busy"; 不太忙  "not too  busy" vs. 不很忙 "not very busy").   As an adjective marker in an  affirmative sentence, 很 loses its  literal sense and acts somewhat  (only somewhat) like the English  copula "be" as in "I _am_ glad" 我很高兴 and "You _are_ busy"  你很忙, or like a meaningless "filler" or "placeholder". 

Here is a rule of thumb (for affirmative sentences): 
Subject + 是 "be" + NOUN (e.g., 我是学生 "I am a  student") vs. Subject + 很  "copula-like filler" + PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVE  (e.g., 我很忙 "I am busy").
How about 我是很忙?  Since 很 already fills in  the copula function, 是 serves  as an adverb here meaning "indeed" ==>  我是很忙 "I'm indeed busy".
How about 花是红的? I see   "红的" and other "X+的"  constructions as ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES  modifying an implied noun  (e.g., 花是红的[颜色, 品种, etc.]; 我是高兴的[样子, etc.]).

 不, when translated into English, typically involves an auxiliary verb (e.g., 我不喜欢她 "I _do_ not like her") or a linking verb (e.g., 我不漂亮 "I _am_ not pretty").  You may see it as having a "built-in" linking verb and therefore the opposite of 我很忙 is 我不忙.  If you say 我不很忙, 很 will be interpreted with its literal meaning, that is, "very".  Thus, 我不很忙 = I'm not very busy.


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## ThePellican

Again, thank you both very much! 
Now all of it is somewhat clearer to me! 
Just one last question ... 

Moderator's note: The new question has been moved to another thread. Feel free to open new threads for new questions.


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