<p>A literal English translation is, "To go to Mt. Hua, how does one go there comparatively well [better]? </p>

<p>"To go to Mt. Hua" is what is called the "topic" of the sentence, and is placed in front for emphasis. The rest of the sentence is "commentary," with "how does one go there" preceding "better." The last part, 比较 好 is "commentary on commentary."</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-14T00:11:05.980Z
2014-04-14T00:11:05.980Z
Tom Au
<p>What your Chinese friend said is right. 比较+adjective is a very common pattern used in Chinese which means 'beyond average' or 'beyond other competitors' according to one's knowledge or some theories and so on. So there do exist some comparative meanings.</p>

<p>I don't know the very reason why this expression makes sense, most of us Chinese don't. I think it appears as a brief way to say '...the best ... according to...'. The following sentence says <strong>exactly</strong> the same thing in Chinese </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你觉得去华山怎么走最好？</p>
</blockquote>

<p>We also say in oral language</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>去华山怎么走最好？</p>
</blockquote>

<p>But 比较+adjective is the most commonly used pattern.</p>

<p><strong>Supplement</strong>: Chinese has a tradition of modesty. We don't usually assert something is 'the best' unless it is the fact that we want to emphasize. When asked by your close friend '你最喜欢什么运动', you can say that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我最喜欢打篮球了</p>
</blockquote>

<p>But when asked by an elder, we naturally would answer</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我比较喜欢打篮球</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The latter sounds softer and implicitly express your modesty. </p>

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2014-04-14T07:53:26.783Z
Ah, this makes more sense to me. 谢谢。
pg-robban
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2014-04-14T09:31:18.873Z
`I think it appears as a brief way to say '...the best ... according to...'.` No, it doesn't. 比较好 means better, not best. And the part on modesty regarding the choice of word used is certainly misplaced.
杨以轩
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2014-04-14T11:44:02.777Z
@pg-robban I read over deutschZuid's answer and I think what he says is just right. Sorry for misleading you.
Jianting Wang
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2014-04-14T11:47:29.747Z
I don't think you mislead me, but since his answer seems to be the consensus here, I changed the accepted answer. I guess we both learned something new every day :)
pg-robban
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2014-04-14T13:10:35.913Z
For my part, I prefer this answer.  @Jianting Wang, you are too modest!  :)
neubau
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2014-04-15T01:00:48.370Z
@pg-robban Thanks. But I still want to explain the reason why I said I'm wrong. As Qusetion Overflow said, 比较means better, not best, at least formally. I look up it in a dictionary I am sure of this. An example to illuminate this is when one is asked by '你喜欢吃什么水果', the answer could be multiple kinds of fruit, '我比较喜欢吃苹果、梨子和香蕉'. 比较 surely does not mean 'the best' because the answerer may have further preference among them. So 比较 used before adj. means '具有一定程度', translated as 'with a certain degree of'.
Jianting Wang
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2014-04-14T01:59:37.960Z
2014-04-14T03:15:01.233Z
2014-04-14T03:15:01.233Z
Jianting Wang
<p>In short:</p>

<p>"怎么走？" = "How to go to ... ?"</p>

<p>"去华山怎么走比较好？" = "去华山怎么走？" = "怎么去华山？"</p>

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2014-04-14T23:07:55.557Z
This doesn't answer the question. Read the question more carefully. The OP is confused about the use of 比较 here.
deutschZuid
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2014-04-14T07:11:11.237Z
2014-04-14T07:11:11.237Z
iHu
<p>比较 here doesn't so much accentuate the comparison between two or more objects/methods. It more gives you an idea of something that has a quality to a somewhat significant degree or above the average. (So in some way, it is a comparison, but a comparison to an unreferenced standard/average). </p>

<p>It can be loosely translated into 'relatively', 'fairly', 'rather' or 'somewhat'.</p>

<p>Another example would be: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>玛丽长得比较胖</p>
  
  <p>Mary is <strong>rather</strong> obese/overweight.</p>
</blockquote>

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2014-04-13T22:24:03.580Z
Sorry if I misunderstood you, but wouldn't it make more sense to say something like "What's **the best** way to get there?" rather than "the better"? Or is it expressed more naturally this way in Chinese?
pg-robban
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2014-04-13T22:50:10.223Z
@pg-robban Because that's not what she's trying to say. She just wants a good way, not the best way.
deutschZuid
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2014-04-14T00:40:29.780Z
The English gloss here follows the Chinese a bit too closely.  In idiomatic English, the question would be better put as “What’s a good way...?” as suggested in the comment above, or “What’s the best way...?”  Keep in mind that this is a gloss, not a translation - just an aid to understanding the Chinese, not a stand-alone text.
neubau
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2014-04-14T01:38:53.473Z
@user2619 Are you conversing with me or just making a general comment about the question?
deutschZuid
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2014-04-14T01:52:03.950Z
I was responding to @pg-robban's comment to your answer.  And I suppose I am disagreeing with your answer as well.  The person simply wants to know how to get there, and this is how the question is formulated in Chinese.  Translating 'bijiao' as 'rather' (in statements, not questions) is correct in itself but not relevant here, I would argue.
neubau
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2014-04-14T01:53:19.993Z
I agree with @deutschZuid, in your translation, 比较好 means relatively better, so it can be "Which is the relatively better way to go to Mt. Hua."
j5shi
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2014-04-14T01:54:56.677Z
@user2619 In fact I wouldn't translate it at all in the question's example, if it was up to me. As it would sound jarring idiomatically. However, that is what it implies in the example. It sounds natural in Chinese, but not so in English. You've pretty much covered that point.
deutschZuid
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2014-04-13T21:37:34.223Z
2014-04-13T21:42:38.600Z
2014-04-13T21:42:38.600Z
deutschZuid
<p>The following dialogue is in NPCR 2, Lesson 23, listening exercise 7 in the exercise book, and my attempt in translating it. </p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cXjhY.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>I'm unsure about the sentence marked in red. I have not learned the pattern 比较+adjective until now but my Chinese friend told me that it's the comparative form of the adjective, so in this case "good"->"better".</p>

<p>But I can't make sense of this question. It's better compared to what? I also see a 走 (to walk), but in the next sentence they talk about trains and climbing. So how should I translate it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-04-13T19:42:30.550Z
You can understand it as `what are the better ways among all possible ways?' Actually I think a better translation should just be plainly, 'What's a good way to go there?'
user58955
<meaning-in-context>
Making sense of 去华山怎么走比较好？
# Making sense of 去华山怎么走比较好？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-04-13)

The following dialogue is in NPCR 2, Lesson 23, listening exercise 7 in the exercise book, and my attempt in translating it.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/cXjhY.png)

I'm unsure about the sentence marked in red. I have not learned the pattern 比较+adjective until now but my Chinese friend told me that it's the comparative form of the adjective, so in this case "good"->"better".

But I can't make sense of this question. It's better compared to what? I also see a 走 (to walk), but in the next sentence they talk about trains and climbing. So how should I translate it?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You can understand it as `what are the better ways among all possible ways?' Actually I think a better translation should just be plainly, 'What's a good way to go there?'  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2014-04-13. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

比较 here doesn't so much accentuate the comparison between two or more objects/methods. It more gives you an idea of something that has a quality to a somewhat significant degree or above the average. (So in some way, it is a comparison, but a comparison to an unreferenced standard/average).

It can be loosely translated into 'relatively', 'fairly', 'rather' or 'somewhat'.

Another example would be:

> 玛丽长得比较胖
>
> Mary is **rather** obese/overweight.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Sorry if I misunderstood you, but wouldn't it make more sense to say something like "What's **the best** way to get there?" rather than "the better"? Or is it expressed more naturally this way in Chinese?  
> **username_7**: @username_0 Because that's not what she's trying to say. She just wants a good way, not the best way.  
> **username_5**: The English gloss here follows the Chinese a bit too closely.  In idiomatic English, the question would be better put as “What’s a good way...?” as suggested in the comment above, or “What’s the best way...?”  Keep in mind that this is a gloss, not a translation - just an aid to understanding the Chinese, not a stand-alone text.  
> **username_7**: @user2619 Are you conversing with me or just making a general comment about the question?  
> **username_5**: I was responding to @username_0's comment to your answer.  And I suppose I am disagreeing with your answer as well.  The person simply wants to know how to get there, and this is how the question is formulated in Chinese.  Translating 'bijiao' as 'rather' (in statements, not questions) is correct in itself but not relevant here, I would argue.  
> **username_8**: I agree with @username_7, in your translation, 比较好 means relatively better, so it can be "Which is the relatively better way to go to Mt. Hua."  
> **username_7**: @user2619 In fact I wouldn't translate it at all in the question's example, if it was up to me. As it would sound jarring idiomatically. However, that is what it implies in the example. It sounds natural in Chinese, but not so in English. You've pretty much covered that point.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-04-14. Score: 3

A literal English translation is, "To go to Mt. Hua, how does one go there comparatively well [better]?

"To go to Mt. Hua" is what is called the "topic" of the sentence, and is placed in front for emphasis. The rest of the sentence is "commentary," with "how does one go there" preceding "better." The last part, 比较 好 is "commentary on commentary."


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-04-14. Score: 2

What your Chinese friend said is right. 比较+adjective is a very common pattern used in Chinese which means 'beyond average' or 'beyond other competitors' according to one's knowledge or some theories and so on. So there do exist some comparative meanings.

I don't know the very reason why this expression makes sense, most of us Chinese don't. I think it appears as a brief way to say '...the best ... according to...'. The following sentence says **exactly** the same thing in Chinese

> 你觉得去华山怎么走最好？

We also say in oral language

> 去华山怎么走最好？

But 比较+adjective is the most commonly used pattern.

**Supplement**: Chinese has a tradition of modesty. We don't usually assert something is 'the best' unless it is the fact that we want to emphasize. When asked by your close friend '你最喜欢什么运动', you can say that

> 我最喜欢打篮球了

But when asked by an elder, we naturally would answer

> 我比较喜欢打篮球

The latter sounds softer and implicitly express your modesty.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ah, this makes more sense to me. 谢谢。  
> **username_4**: `I think it appears as a brief way to say '...the best ... according to...'.` No, it doesn't. 比较好 means better, not best. And the part on modesty regarding the choice of word used is certainly misplaced.  
> **username_3**: @username_0 I read over username_7's answer and I think what he says is just right. Sorry for misleading you.  
> **username_0**: I don't think you mislead me, but since his answer seems to be the consensus here, I changed the accepted answer. I guess we both learned something new every day :)  
> **username_5**: For my part, I prefer this answer.  @username_3, you are too modest!  :)  
> **username_3**: @username_0 Thanks. But I still want to explain the reason why I said I'm wrong. As Qusetion Overflow said, 比较means better, not best, at least formally. I look up it in a dictionary I am sure of this. An example to illuminate this is when one is asked by '你喜欢吃什么水果', the answer could be multiple kinds of fruit, '我比较喜欢吃苹果、梨子和香蕉'. 比较 surely does not mean 'the best' because the answerer may have further preference among them. So 比较 used before adj. means '具有一定程度', translated as 'with a certain degree of'.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-04-14. Score: -1

In short:

"怎么走？" = "How to go to ... ?"

"去华山怎么走比较好？" = "去华山怎么走？" = "怎么去华山？"

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: This doesn't answer the question. Read the question more carefully. The OP is confused about the use of 比较 here.  

---

