Expressing "rather" with "bijiao"

It's rather nice to be able to read an article on how to use 比较 to mean "rather." And here it is!

Structure

The adverb 比较 (bǐjiào) can be used to express "quite", "rather", or "relatively." It's a way of comparing one thing with a general idea instead of comparing two concrete things.

Subj. + 比较 + Adj.

Examples

• 她 比较 聪明。Tā bǐjiào cōngming.She is rather intelligent.
• 你 比较 胖。Nǐ bǐjiào pàng.You're rather fat.
• 这件事情 比较 复杂。Zhè jiàn shìqing bǐjiào fùzá.This matter is rather complicated.

See also

• Moderating positive adjectives with "hai"
• The "zui" superlative
• Special verbs with "hen"
• Expressing "a bit too"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 49-50) →buy