Word

差 (chà) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 3

Meaning of 差

形 xíng adjective

poor, bad, inferior

这个产品的质量很差。

zhè ge chǎn pǐn de zhì liàng hěn chà

The quality of this product is very poor.

动 dòng verb

to lack

我差五块钱。

wǒ chà wǔ kuài qián

I'm short five yuan.

Word breakdown

差 chà — poor, bad, inferior

1 差不多 chà bu duō — almost HSK 3
- 差 to differ, difference
- 不 not
- 多 much, many
Example

我差不多完成了作业。

wǒ chà bu duō wán chéng le zuò yè

I've almost finished my homework.
2 差一点儿 chà yì diǎnr — almost, nearly HSK 4
- 差 to lack, to fall short
- 一 one (as a measure)
- 点 a bit, a little
- 儿 diminutive suffix (adds colloquial flavor)
Example

我差一点儿忘了你的生日。

wǒ chà yì diǎnr wàng le nǐ de shēng rì

I almost forgot your birthday.
3 差一点儿 chà (yī) diǎnr — almost HSK 4
- 差 differ, lack, fall short of
- 一 one (used as intensifier)
- 点 point, a little bit
- 儿 diminutive suffix (softens expression)
Example

我差点儿忘了带钥匙。

wǒ chà diǎnr wàng le dài yào shi

I almost forgot to bring my keys.
4 相差 xiāng chà — to differ by HSK 6
- 相 mutually, reciprocally (indicates comparison between two things)
- 差 to differ, discrepancy (indicates the gap or difference)
Example

我们的年龄相差五岁。

wǒ men de nián líng xiāng chà wǔ suì

Our ages differ by five years.

Structure & writing

1 差 chà — not matching; not up to

Xpinyin

差 is a component in 2 characters

HSK 7

搓 cuō to rub between the palms or roll between the hands 磋 cuō (lit.) to carve or polish ivory into objects

consists of

1.1 羊 yáng — sheep or goat (mammal with horns, including domestic breeds like sheep and goats, and wild species like gazelles and antelopes; wool, hide, bone, and horn used as industrial materials; meat and milk edible)

羊 is a component in 20 characters

HSK 1

样 yàng shape; appearance; state of affairs

HSK 2

着 zhuó to wear (clothing)

HSK 3