Chinese Conversation · Level 58
90 words
Chinese word
倍
Pronunciation
Pinyinbèi
Meaning
- nountimes
Example
现在的价格是以前的两倍。xiàn zài de jià gé shì yǐ qián de liǎng bèi
The current price is twice the previous price.
More examples
经过几年的发展，公司规模是以前的好几倍。jīng guò jǐ nián de fā zhǎn gōng sī guī mó shì yǐ qián de háo jǐ bèi
After several years of development, the company's size was several times what it was before.
Core concept
A number shows how many equal-sized portions of a reference amount make up another amount.
Common phrases
两倍liǎng bèi
twice as much
几倍jǐ bèi
several times
提高了两倍tí gāo le liǎng bèi
increase twofold
Similar words
比例bǐ lì: A fixed ratio showing how two quantities correspond as they change.
Definition in Chinese
表示两个数量之间的倍数关系，也用于描述数量的成倍增长，常用于比较和说明增长幅度。biǎo shì liǎng gè shù liàng zhī jiān de bèi shù guān xì yě yòng yú miáo shù shù liàng de chéng bèi zēng zhǎng cháng yòng yú bǐ jiào hé shuō míng zēng zhǎng fú dù
Word origin
The written form 倍 (bèi, "times") combines 人 (rén, "person") with 咅 (pǒu, "sound marker"), which mainly supplies the pronunciation rather than the numerical meaning.
Usage tips
- English speakers often confuse twice as much with 200% more: 两倍 (liǎng bèi, "two times") means the final amount is twice the original, so the increase itself is 100%.
Other meanings
- multiplenoun
- doublingnoun
Opposites
- 一半yí bànhalfnoun
Related words
- 倍数bèi shùmultiplenoun
- 翻倍fān bèidoubleverb
- 双倍shuāng bèidoubleadjective