HSK · Level 109
45 words
Chinese word
相对而言
Pronunciation
Pinyinxiāng duì ér yán
Meaning
- adverbrelatively speaking
Example
相对而言这个城市的房价不算太高。xiāng duì ér yán zhè ge chéng shì de fáng jià bú suàn tài gāo
Relatively speaking, housing prices in this city are not too high.
More examples
相对而言年轻人更容易适应新环境。xiāng duì ér yán nián qīng rén gèng róng yì shì yìng xīn huán jìng
Relatively speaking, young people are more likely to adapt to new environments.
Core concept
A comparison lens that describes one situation by placing it beside others.
Common phrases
相对而言来说xiāng duì ér yán lái shuō
relatively speaking
相对而言更有利xiāng duì ér yán gèng yǒu lì
relatively more advantageous
相对而言比较客观xiāng duì ér yán bǐ jiào kè guān
relatively objective
Similar words
比较bǐ jiào: Means fairly or somewhat, showing a moderate degree rather than a strong one.
相对来说xiāng duì lái shuō: Describes a situation in relation to others, especially in a natural spoken style.
Definition in Chinese
用于在比较时指出某一情况相对于其他情况的程度或性质，表示相对地说。yòng yú zài bǐ jiào shí zhǐ chū mǒu yì qíng kuàng xiāng duì yú qí tā qíng kuàng de chéng dù huò xìng zhì biǎo shì xiāng duì dì shuō
Word origin
相对而言 (xiāngduìéryán, "relatively speaking") combines 相对 (xiāngduì, "relative") with 而言 (éryán, "speaking of"), giving the sense of describing something in relation to a comparison.
Usage tips
- In everyday conversation, this phrase often sounds more formal and deliberate than casual comparison language, so it is especially common in written explanations and careful speech.
Opposites
- 绝对而言jué duì ér yánin absolute termsadverb
Related words
- 相对xiāng duìrelativeadjective
- 相对性xiāng duì xìngrelativitynoun
- 相对论xiāng duì lùntheory of relativitynoun