<p>Without seeing the full context, 念 here seems to be short for 念書 (study)</p>
<p>我想他(念書)念不過你 = 我覺得他在學習上比不過你  = I think he can't beat you in studying</p>
<p>Meaning you study harder, smarter, learn more, and get better grades than him</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-09T21:14:48.647Z
2022-01-10T13:44:58.453Z
2022-01-10T13:44:58.453Z
Tang Ho
<p>The full sentence containing this phrase is 我想他念不過你.
From DeFrancis' Beginning Chinese Reader p. 185 – Lesson 19, Exercise 5, Item 12</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-30T05:57:04.350Z
I flipped through this book and the contents look very outdated, like early texts when written vernacular Chinese was not standardized. Since written vernacular Chinese is very young, it went through radical changes these years. I don't think it's a good textbook for beginners.
lilysirius
<meaning>
What does 念不過你 mean?
# What does 念不過你 mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-09)

The full sentence containing this phrase is 我想他念不過你.
From DeFrancis' Beginning Chinese Reader p. 185 – Lesson 19, Exercise 5, Item 12

**Tags:** meaning

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I flipped through this book and the contents look very outdated, like early texts when written vernacular Chinese was not standardized. Since written vernacular Chinese is very young, it went through radical changes these years. I don't think it's a good textbook for beginners.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-01-09. Score: 1

Without seeing the full context, 念 here seems to be short for 念書 (study)

我想他(念書)念不過你 = 我覺得他在學習上比不過你 = I think he can't beat you in studying

Meaning you study harder, smarter, learn more, and get better grades than him


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