| Scale aij | Definition |
| 1 | factor i is as important as factor j |
| 3 | factor i is a little more important than factor j |
| 5 | factor i is obviously more important than factor j |
| 7 | factor i is intensely more important than factor j |
| 9 | factor i is extremely more important than factor j |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 | the importance is between its front number and the latter number |
| reciprocal | When compare j to i,the aji = 1/aij |