The kanji 較 (KAKU, kura(beru)) means “comparison.” It used to have a different form, one that meant “small cross-spars built out from the shaft of a dignitary’s carriage, used for boarding and alighting.” Wow, just another example of a kanji that concisely captures what I so often want to say!
This character appears in very few compounds.
But what about its kun-yomi, which gives us kura(beru), “to compare”? We already have a verb just like that: 比べる (kuraberu: to compare). So how do they compare?!
A native speaker told me, “They don’t differ in meaning, but only 比べる is actually used. We almost never use 較べる.”
