较 (jiào) · comparatively, rather, to compare

Meanings

1 comparatively
2 rather
3 to compare

Characters

较

jiào

comparatively; to compare

Examples

HSK 1

今天较冷。

Jīntiān jiào lěng.

It's rather cold today.

HSK 3

这个方法较好。

Zhège fāngfǎ jiào hǎo.

This method is comparatively better.

HSK 5

两者难以比较。

Liǎngzhě nányǐ bǐjiào.

The two are hard to compare.

Tips

usage

较 is more formal/written than 比较. In spoken Chinese, people prefer 比较. 较 alone feels literary.

grammar

较 + adjective = 'rather/comparatively' + adj. Similar to 比较 but shorter and more formal.

Components

radical

车 chē

vehicle; cart

Left indexing vehicle radical 车 - originally 较 referred to the crossbar on a chariot used to gauge measurements when comparing chariots side-by-side. The vehicle-radical preserves this measuring-by-chariot origin. Same family: 转 (turn), 输 (transport), 轮 (wheel).

phonetic

交 jiāo

cross; exchange

Right component 交 (cross/exchange) - supplies the sound (jiāo → jiào, just a tone shift) AND adds semantic flavour: comparison is a kind of crossing or exchanging of measurements. 交 itself shows a person with crossed legs. Same phonetic: 校 (school/check), 效 (effect), 郊 (suburb).