| Scale | Definition | Description |
| 1 | Equally important | Both elements are equally important |
| 3 | Slightly important | Compared with the two factors, the former is slightly more important than the latter |
| 5 | Obviously important | Compared with the two factors, the former is obviously more important than the latter |
| 7 | Much more important | Compared with the two factors, the former is much more important than the latter |
| 9 | Extremely important | Compared with the two factors, the former is more important than the latter |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 | Judgment median | Take the median importance of neighboring judgments |
| Reciprocal of the above numbers | Inverse comparison | If the ratio Aj i of importance between i and j is n, then the ratio of j to i is Aj I = 1/n. |