與其

與其

1. rather than

   與其跪著生，毋寧站著死。 [MSC, trad.]
   与其跪着生，毋宁站着死。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yǔqí guìzhe shēng, wúnìng zhànzhe sǐ. [Pinyin]

   It's better to die standing rather than live kneeling.

   你與其坐車，不如坐船。 [MSC, trad.]
   你与其坐车，不如坐船。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ yǔqí zuò chē, bùrú zuò chuán. [Pinyin]

   It's better for you to go by boat than by car.

   與其說是粗心大意，不如說是不負責任。 [MSC, trad.]
   与其说是粗心大意，不如说是不负责任。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yǔqí shuō shì cūxīndàyì, bùrú shuō shì bù fù zérèn. [Pinyin]

   It's not so much carelessness as irresponsibility.

   • 禮，與其奢也，寧儉；喪，與其易也，寧戚。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     礼，与其奢也，宁俭；丧，与其易也，宁戚。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Lǐ, yǔqí shē yě, nìng jiǎn; sàng, yǔqí yì yě, nìng qī. [Pinyin]

     In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to observances.

   • 百乘之家，不畜聚斂之臣。與其有聚斂之臣，寧有盜臣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     百乘之家，不畜聚敛之臣。与其有聚敛之臣，宁有盗臣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Bǎishèng zhī jiā, bù xù jùliǎn zhī chén. Yǔqí yǒu jùliǎn zhī chén, nìng yǒu dàochén. [Pinyin]

     So, the house which possesses a hundred chariots should not keep a minister to look out for imposts that he may lay them on the people. Than to have such a minister, it were better for that house to have one who should rob it of its revenues.

This is usually the first part of the rather than conjunctional construction and occurs before the unfavourable alternative. The second part of the construction contains the more favourable of the alternatives and is headed by 不如 (bùrú) or 寧可／宁可 (nìngkě) (general use), 毋寧／毋宁 (wúnìng) (literary, formal) or 孰若 (literary, archaic).