Chinese word

较

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiào

Meaning

  • adverbrelatively

Example

他较慢，你别催他。tā jiào màn nǐ bié cuī tā

He is relatively slow, so don't rush him.

Illustration for 较 (relatively)

More examples

今年夏天较热，大家都开空调。jīn nián xià tiān jiào rè dà jiā dōu kāi kōng tiáo

This summer is relatively hot, so everyone turns on the air conditioning.

Core concept

A small movement along a scale toward a stated quality, giving a measured relative degree.

Common phrases

  • 较多jiào duō

    relatively many

  • 较好jiào hǎo

    relatively good

  • 较高jiào gāo

    relatively high

Similar words

比较bǐ jiào: Gives a quality a moderate or fairly noticeable degree in ordinary speech.
更gèng: Adds the meaning that a quality has increased by another degree.
稍微shāo wēi: Limits the degree of a quality to a slight amount.

Definition in Chinese

作为副词，表示程度上有小幅差异或倾向，偏向某一状态，常与『为』构成『较为』，语域偏书面，可用『比较』替代于口语中。zuò wéi fù cí biǎo shì chéng dù shàng yǒu xiǎo fú chā yì huò qīng xiàng piān xiàng mǒu yí zhuàng tài cháng yǔ wèi gòu chéng jiào wéi yǔ yù piān shū miàn kě yòng bǐ jiào tì dài yú kóu yǔ zhōng

Word origin

The adverb 较 (jiào, "relatively") continues an older comparison-related sense of the character, so comparison naturally developed into a marker of degree.

Usage tips

  • English rather can express preference or correction, but 较 (jiào, "relatively") only marks degree and does not introduce that meaning.

Other meanings

  • slightlyadverb

Related words

Word lists with this word