How to Write 较 (jiào) — Meaning “Relatively; to compare”

Imagine two cars (车) meeting at an intersection (交) where you compare which one is faster. The visual of comparing cars at a crossing helps link the components to the meaning of comparison.

Write the left radical 车 with narrow width, keeping it compact. The right side 交 starts with a dot on top, then a horizontal stroke, followed by a left-falling and a right-falling stroke that create an open shape. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or forgetting the dot on top of 交.

较 has a dot on the top right (交) while 斩 has a 斤 (axe) on the right with no top dot. 斩 means 'to chop' and 较 means 'to compare.' 軎 is very rare and refers to an ancient axle part; it looks different because its right side is not 交 or 斤.

较 is mostly used in compound words like 比较 (compare, relatively) and 较好 (better). For example, 今天比较冷 means 'today is relatively cold.' It is not used alone as a verb. The expression 不计较 means 'not to fuss over small matters' and is common in daily speech.

Common words containing 较 include: 比较 (bǐ jiào) — To compare; relatively; 较好 (jiào hǎo) — Better; relatively good; 计较 (jì jiào) — to fuss about; to haggle over.