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Is '做得较出色‘ good Chinese?

Seems to me that it means that something is outstanding, remarkable, or it is not, in which case it is commonplace. I suppose this begs the question 'Where does remarkable begin?'

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    Yes. It's more formal (较 vs. 比较). 较 means relatively or comparatively. You could understand it as: comparatively remarkable (remarkable in comparison).
    – Mou某 ♦
    Jul 26, 2015 at 5:11

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(Someone)做(something)做得较出色 is perfect Chinese. 较出色 can be translated into relatively outstanding

I think Chinese tend to be modest when compliment someone related to them. So it is common to hear the boss praises his subordinate 做得较出色 or a mother praises her son 做得较出色 in front of a third party.

It is perfectly fine if you remove the "较" which as user3306356 pointed out "It's more formal (较 vs. 比较). 较 means relatively or comparatively".

P.S. if you hear 较出色, someone/something probably is pretty outstanding.

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  • 'remarkable' is always in comparison with other things, 'relatively outstanding' is not a phrase I would ever use in English, 'good' springs to mind as the best translation there.
    – Pedroski
    Jul 30, 2015 at 21:59
  • Correct me if I am wrong, my feeling is that everything is "good" from a westerner's perspective. So I think good is about average (5 or 6 out of a scale of 10). Personally, I would rate 较出色 for a score of 7 or 8, but when I use 较出色 I probably mean 出色 which gives it a score of 8 or 9. So I do feel "good" is the best translation here.
    – Meruemu
    Jul 30, 2015 at 23:32
  • I just asked about this on an English Language forum. Apparently, Americans think 'relatively outstanding' is ok, whereas an Englishman immediately said he would not use this phrase, only 'outstanding' 'excellent' or 'remarkable'. I'll stick with english English!
    – Pedroski
    Jul 31, 2015 at 0:22
  • I think the question you asked here is that whether 较出色 is good Chinese rather whether "relatively outstanding" is good English translation for 较出色. To sum up, 较出色 IS good Chinese; "relatively outstanding" is an OK translation for 较出色 which I agree I will not use the phrase in English conversation. "relatively" was used just for the sake of trying to reflect the different cultural meanings in Chinese and English.
    – Meruemu
    Jul 31, 2015 at 17:06
  • @Meruemu, isn't 中庸 more emphasized by 孔子 than 老子?
    – Rodrigo
    Sep 25, 2015 at 11:06
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较出色 is a somewhat formal expression, which is mostly seen in official or semiofficial documents. It literally means "relatively outstanding". That is to say: it is not of the top tier, but a bit better than expectation. If it is used in a student's grade report, I think it roughly corresponds to A- or B+.

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  • I would never write in English 'relatively outstanding'. For me, outstanding is a quantum condition：either you are outstanding, or you are not. Chinese has a different spin on this of course.
    – Pedroski
    Jul 30, 2015 at 21:54

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