计较

• Pinyin: jì jiào
• Hanzi breakdown: 计 = 讠+ 十 (speech + ten — to count); 较 = 车 + 交 (vehicle + cross — to compare)

Meaning

To haggle over; to take issue with; to be particular about. Also: to weigh up and compare. Often implies being petty or overly meticulous about minor matters.

Can be neutral (carefully weigh options) but is most commonly used negatively (nitpicking, haggling over trifles). The phrase 不计较 (not to mind/not to quibble) is especially common.

Examples

1. 他不计较个人得失，始终把集体利益放在首位。 He doesn’t worry about personal gains and losses and always puts the collective interest first.
2. 你何必和他计较这些小事呢？ Why bother nitpicking with him over these little things?
3. 两人因为一点小误会便开始互相计较，关系变得十分尴尬。 The two started nitpicking at each other over a small misunderstanding, and the relationship became very awkward.

Usage Guide

Context: interpersonal, workplace, daily life

Tone: mildly negative

Do Say

• 一位真正胸怀宽广的领导者不会与下属计较言语上的冒犯，而是着眼于团队的整体方向和长远目标。(A truly magnanimous leader does not quibble with subordinates over verbal offences but instead focuses on the team's overall direction and long-term goals.)
• 在资源紧张的创业初期，合伙人之间若是事事计较股权分配的细枝末节，往往会消耗大量本可用于业务拓展的精力。(During the resource-constrained early stages of a start-up, if partners quibble over every minute detail of equity distribution, they tend to consume a great deal of energy that could otherwise be devoted to business development.)

Don't Say

• 计较 should not replace 计划 or 考虑; 计较 specifically means to quibble or scrutinise petty details, not simply 'to consider'

Origin & History

计 (reckon/calculate) + 较 (compare/measure)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal