Meaning of 大于
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- greater than; bigger than; more than
How to use 大于
大于 is a formal comparison word used in math, science, rules, and written statements. It often appears in the pattern A 大于 B. Example: 五大于三。(Wǔ dàyú sān.) Five is greater than three.
大 (dà) means big, and 于 (yú) works like "than" or "compared to." So 大于 is literally "big compared to," which is the math sign >.
Common mistake: Learners often use 大于 in casual speech where 比 is more natural. Say 他比我大 (tā bǐ wǒ dà), not 他大于我, when talking about age in daily conversation. Also keep 于 (yú) separate from the similar-looking 干 (gān), which has no hook at the bottom.
大于 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
大 dà · big · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
于 yú · to go · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 大于.
| 大学 | dàxué | university; college |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up |
| 大部分 | dàbùfen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice |
| 大量 | dàliàng | great amount; large quantity |
| 大多数 | dàduōshù | (great) majority |
| 大海 | dàhǎi | sea; ocean |
| 大门 | dàmén | entrance; door |
Questions about 大于
What does 大于 mean?
大于 (dàyú) means "greater than; bigger than; more than" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 大于?
大于 is made of 2 characters: 大 (3 strokes), 于 (3 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 大于 an HSK word?
Yes. 大于 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 大于 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 大于 is written 大於.
What is the opposite of 大于?
The opposite is 小于 (xiǎoyú), meaning less than. For "greater than or equal to" you say 大于等于 (dàyú děngyú) or 不小于 (bù xiǎoyú).
Can 大于 be used for abstract ideas, not just numbers?
Yes, in written or formal Chinese. For example, 利大于弊 (lì dàyú bì) means the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.