差 chà differ from
differ from; poor; fall short of
chà (lacking; poor) and chāi (errand) - 差不多 chàbuduō, 出差 chūchāi
How to remember 差: ⺶ sheep + 工 work = differ from. The farmer's sheep refuses to work like the sheepdog, and the two could not differ from each other more.
Component breakdown
差 = ⺶ sheep + 工 work
- ⺶ sheep
- 工 work
The farmer's sheep refuses to work like the sheepdog, and the two could not differ from each other more.
How it came to be
Grain hanging unevenly with a hand at the bottom reaching into it. The stalks are not level: the character is about the gap between them, which is where error, difference and falling short come from.
How it is used
- Multiple readings. chà = "lacking, poor, fall short": 成绩很差 (chéngjì hěn chà) grades are bad, 差一点 (chà yìdiǎn) almost/nearly.
- 差不多 (chàbuduō) = "about the same / almost", a hugely common hedge: 差不多了 (chàbuduō le) that'll about do.
- chāi = an errand/assignment: 出差 (chūchāi) go on a business trip. Also chā for the noun "difference": 差别 (chābié) difference, 时差 (shíchā) time difference/jet lag.
Characters built with 差
Words with 差
- 差不多chàbuduōalmostHSK 3
- 出差chū chāigo on a business tripHSK 4
- 差点儿chàdiǎnralmostHSK 4
- 差别chābiédifferenceHSK 5
- 差距chājùdisparityHSK 5
- 时差shíchātime differenceHSK 5
- 差异chāyìdifferenceHSK 6
- 相差xiāngchàto differHSK 6
- 反差fǎnchācontrastHSK 7
- 差错chācuòmistakeHSK 7
- 温差wēnchàdifference in temperatureHSK 7
- 落差luòchādrop in elevationHSK 7
- 误差wùchādifferenceHSK 7
- 顺差shùnchāsurplusHSK 7
- 偏差piānchābiasHSK 8
- 差额chā’ébalance (financial)HSK 8
Example sentences
- 我还差点经验。 Wǒ hái chà diǎn jīngyàn.I don't have enough experience.
- 他们的服务质量很差。 Tāmen de fúwù zhìliàng hěn chà.The quality of their service is poor.
- 他们差不多一样高。 Tāmen chàbuduō yīyàng gāo.They are about the same height.
- 我经常去外地出差。 Wǒ jīngcháng qù wàidì chūchāi.I frequently go on business trips to other places.