略 luè — plan; strategy; outline; summary; slightly; rather
这篇文章我只是略读了一遍。Zhè piān wén zhāng wǒ zhǐ shì lüè dú le yí biàn.I only skimmed this article once.
Common words: 侵略 (qīn lüè)、省略 (shěng lüè)、策略 (cè lüè)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "rather"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "rather", including 略 (luè), 宁 (níng), 挺 (tǐng), 颇 (pō). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "rather" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 略 (luè), 宁 (níng), 挺 (tǐng), 颇 (pō) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span luè, níng, tǐng, pō — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 略 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 略 luèplan; strategy; outline; summary; slightly; ratherUseful words: 侵略, 省略
- 宁 níngpeaceful; ratherUseful words: 宁静, 宁可
- 挺 tǐngbe straight and stiff; rather (good)Useful words: 挺好, 挺拔
- 颇 pōquite; rather; uneven; slopingUseful words: 颇为, 颇多
Common words for these 4 "rather" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 略 (luè) — so "rather" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
侵略qīn lüèto invade; invasion省略shěng lüèto leave out; an omission策略cè lüèstrategy; tactics; crafty; adroit宁静níng jìngtranquil; tranquility; serenity宁可nìng kěpreferably; one would prefer to...(or not to...); would rather; (would) be better to宁愿nìng yuànwould rather ... (than ...)挺好tǐng hǎovery good挺拔tǐng bátall and straight挺进tǐng jìnprogress; to advance颇为pō wéirather; quite
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "rather".
宁 níng — peaceful; rather
我宁可走路，也不愿意挤公交车。Wǒ nìng kě zǒu lù, yě bú yuàn yì jǐ gōng jiāo chē.I would rather walk than squeeze onto a crowded bus.
Common words: 宁静 (níng jìng)、宁可 (nìng kě)、宁愿 (nìng yuàn)
挺 tǐng — be straight and stiff; rather (good)
这件衣服挺好看的。Zhè jiàn yī fu tǐng hǎo kàn de.This piece of clothing is quite good-looking.
Common words: 挺好 (tǐng hǎo)、挺拔 (tǐng bá)、挺进 (tǐng jìn)
颇 pō — quite; rather; uneven; sloping
这本书的内容颇为有趣。Zhè běn shū de nèi róng pō wéi yǒu qù.The content of this book is quite interesting.
Common words: 颇为 (pō wéi)、颇多 (pō duō)、颇具 (pō jù)
All 4 characters
Open 略、宁、挺 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.