How to Write 媲 (pì) — Meaning “To match; to pair; to compare.”

Imagine a woman (女) using her eye (目) to compare (比) herself with another person, trying to see if she can match them. This visual of a woman making a comparison helps link the components to the meaning 'to match or rival'.

Pay attention to the right part: it is not simply 比 but a combination of 目 (eye) on top and 比 (compare) below. Write the left radical 女 first (3 strokes), then the right side with 目 (5 strokes) and then 比 (4 strokes). A common mistake is to make the bottom 比 too wide or to confuse the top part with 田.

媲 means 'to compare or match', while 娶 means 'to marry (a woman)' and 娼 means 'prostitute'. Visually, 媲 has a right side with 目 and 比, 娶 has 取 (take), and 娼 has 昌 (prosper). In usage, 媲 is used for comparison, 娶 for marriage, and 娼 for a negative term.

媲 appears mainly in formal or written Chinese, most often in the word 媲美 (rival). For example, '这款手机的性能可与高端产品媲美' means 'This phone's performance can rival high-end products.' It is not used in everyday conversation and is considered advanced vocabulary.

Common words containing 媲 include: 媲美 (pì měi) — To compare favorably with; to rival.; 媲拟 (pì nǐ) — To compare; to match.; 媲偶 (pì ǒu) — To match; to pair..