比得起來
停在畫面的第一層：兩者性質夠接近，並排比較才說得通。
similar enough to compare · adjective · C1
Close enough in size, number, quality, or another measure that you can set the two things side by side and compare them.
可比較的
核心畫面
A way of picturing it: two things set side by side so a fair comparison can be made. Whether they turn out equal is a second question — first they must be alike enough to line up at all.
把兩樣東西擺在一起、並排比對。compare + -able，字面就是「比得起來的」。關鍵在於這個畫面有兩層可以停：…更多收起
把兩樣東西擺在一起、並排比對。compare + -able，字面就是「比得起來的」。關鍵在於這個畫面有兩層可以停：停在「擺得上同一張桌子」，講的是可比性（尺寸、單位、性質夠接近，比才有意義）；再往前一步停在「並排之後高度差不多」，講的就是相當、不相上下。英語裡這兩層常常靠語境分辨，也正是這個字容易讓人卡住的地方。From the word’s history
From Latin comparabilis, from comparare 'to place side by side, match' (com- 'together' + par 'equal'); by surface analysis compare + -able.
來自拉丁文 comparābilis，源自 comparāre（並列、相配），拆開是 com-（一起）+ pār（相等，就是 par、pair 的親戚）。字根裡同時有「放在一起」和「相等」兩個成分，這剛好對上現代的兩層意思：一層強調「放得到一起」，一層強調「大致相等」。
Wiktionary (comparable ← Latin comparābilis ← comparāre, com- + pār)
Two branches
不相上下
從「放得上同一張桌子」再往前一步：並排之後發現高度相當，於是這個字直接被用來報告結果。
on the same level · adjective · C1
On the same level of importance or quality as something else. With not or hardly, it means the two do not stand on that same level.
不相上下
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
comparableadj/ˈkɒmpəɹəbəl/
- 1
Able to be compared (to).
- An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.
- You can't say that robbing a bank is like pickpocketing. The two are just not comparable.
- 2
Similar (to); like.
- Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
- 3
mathematicssciencesConstituting a pair in a particular partial order.
- Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.
- 4
grammarhuman-scienceslinguisticsHaving comparative and superlative forms.
- "Big" is a comparable adjective because it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; "unique" and "amazing", in contrast, are not comparable adjectives.
comparablenoun/ˈkɒmpəɹəbəl/
- 1
Something suitable for comparison.
- And the appraiser said he couldn't come up with comparables, because there hadn't been any sales nearby in several months.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。