计较
jìjiào · HSK 7
argue
🧮⚖️ 计 calculate + 较 compare = to haggle/fuss over every detail
计较 literally pairs 计 (calculate) with 较 (compare): someone who calculates and compares every little thing is haggling, quibbling, or fussing. Hence both senses: to argue/wrangle over details, or to fret and care too much about them.
计 — speech radical 讠 (言) + ten 十
计 is a semantic compound: 言 'speech/words' plus 十 'ten', suggesting counting or reckoning aloud. The original sense was to calculate or tally numbers, which extended to 'plan, scheme, plot' — any kind of mental reckoning. Modern uses like 计算 (calculate) and 计划 (plan) preserve both threads.
较 — car radical 车 + 交 (jiāo, phonetic)
较 is a phono-semantic compound: 车 'cart/vehicle' gives the meaning, while 交 supplies the sound. It originally referred to the crossbar on a chariot, then extended by comparison of parts to mean 'compare' or 'relatively', its main modern senses.