Use of 不太 and when is it necessary?

Question

I suspect that 太 has a similar function in negatives as 很 does in negative sentences. Some Chinese speakers have corrected some of my negative sentences in include a 太. e.g.: 他不高兴 was corrected to 他不太高兴. How necessary is this use of 太? What is it's function?

Answer 1

Both 不高兴 (not happy) and 不太高兴 (not very happy) are grammatically correct. "不太 + adjective/verb", which means "not quite..." is a super useful pattern for you to learn, as Chinese speakers tend to avoid giving extreme statements. This kind of habit leaves room for discussions and further negotiations. Sometimes it is even unnatural not to use them.

The following examples are all good Chinese sentences but may have different implications in different situations. Compare these sentences:

我不喜欢他。(I don't like him.) (Blunt, end of the discussion sort of vibe.)

我不太喜欢他。(I don't quite like him.) (Giving room for further conversation and explanation.)

我不忙。(I am not busy.) (Well, since you are not busy AT ALL, you will have to agree to all the plans that I have for us, right?)

我不太忙。(I am not that busy.) (Leaving room for further negotiation.)

他的中文不好。(His Chinese is not good.) (So basically, it's bad. That sounds harsh.)

他的中文不太好。(His Chinese is not very good.) (But he can still speak Chinese to some extend.)

A lot of the patterns that you will learn in Chinese 101 and 102, such as 有一点儿 (a little bit) and 挺...的 (rather...), have similar functions in conversations: to point out what you mean while leaving rooms for further adjustments and discussions. Instead of stating something black and white, we sometimes like to operate in different shades of grey. Of course, you do not have to put on a Chines persona to speak Chinese correctly, but using these patterns naturally will immediately make you sound a lot more "Chinese" in many cases.

Answer 2

Subj. + 不太 + Adj./Verb

This is a great question. We usually have a degree quantifier before an adjectives or we call wèiyǔ. The difference of 他不太高兴/他不高兴 is the degree. For 他不高兴, this is to express the absolute "unsatisfied". If you are more at the mild level, you will use 他不太高兴.

Function

You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express "too," such as when something is "too expensive" or "too hot." 不太 (bù tài) is a similar pattern for the negative, which just means "not very" or "not so" (literally "not too"). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le).

Usage

Use it when you are indicating the adjectives with relatively mild level.