差 (chā): difference, discrepancy, (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction), (literary) a little, somewhat, slightly
差 (chā) is a Chinese character meaning “difference.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 羊 (structural) and 工 (structural). It ranks #732 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 差 work 工 done by a sheep 羊; incompetence. Its radical form 工 (work) appears in many related characters such as 工 (gōng, work), 左 (zuǒ, left), 巧 (qiǎo, opportunely).
Definitions
- difference
- discrepancy
- (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
- (literary) a little
- somewhat
- slightly
Etymology & Origin
ideographicWork 工 done by a sheep 羊; incompetence
Decomposition: ⿸羊工 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 差
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 差不多adjective/adverb | chà bu duō | almost | 3 |
| 差别noun | chā bié | difference | 5 |
| 出差verb | chū chāi | to go on an official or business trip | 4 |
| 差点儿adjective/adverb | chà diǎn r | erhua variant of 差點|差点 | 4 |
| 差距noun | chā jù | disparity | 5 |
| 差异noun | chā yì | difference | 6 |
| 时差noun | shí chā | time difference | 5 |
| 相差verb | xiāng chà | to differ | 6 |
| 差一点儿adjective/adverb | chà yī diǎn r | erhua variant of 差一點|差一点 | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 差点adverb | chà diǎn | almost |
| 差劲adjective | chà jìn | bad |
| 差错noun | chā cuò | mistake |
| 差事noun | chà shì | poor |
| 邮差noun | yóu chāi | postman |
| 差遣verb | chāi qiǎn | to send (on errand) |
| 偏差noun | piān chā | bias |
| 误差noun | wù chā | difference |
| 信差noun | xìn chāi | messenger |
| 差一点adverb | chà yī diǎn | see 差點|差点 |
| 苦差 | kǔ chāi | hard task |
| 差使verb | chāi shǐ | to send |
| 开小差verb | kāi xiǎo chāi | to be absent-minded |
| 交差verb | jiāo chāi | to report back after completion of one's mission |
| 美差 | měi chāi | cushy job |
差 appears in 101 compound words: 37 as the first character, 59 as the last, and 4 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 差 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
demons and gods at work (idiom); unexplained event crying out for a supernatural explanation; curious coincidence
demons and gods at work (idiom); unexplained event crying out for a supernatural explanation; curious coincidence
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 差.
Example Sentences
他的成绩很差，需要加倍努力才能赶上其他同学。
Tā de chéngjì hěn chà, xūyào jiābèi nǔlì cáinéng gǎnshàng qítā tóngxué.
His grades are very poor; he needs to work twice as hard to catch up with other students.
...湾农业世界强“超越电子业” 点名1能力最差
. . . wān nóng yè shì jiè qiáng chāo yuè diàn zǐ yè diǎn míng 1 néng lì zuì chā
... Bay agriculture is strong in the world "surpassing the electronics industry" and is named 1 with the worst ability
...特币2月至今累跌逾19% 势创逾三年半最差月度表现
. . . tè bì 2 yuè zhì jīn lěi diē yú 1 9 shì chuàng yú sān nián bàn zuì chā yuè dù biǎo xiàn
... Special coins have fallen more than 19% since February, the worst monthly performance in more than three and a half years
...热爆!明锋面接力“春雨连发” 冷暖交替温差大
. . . rè bào ! míng fēng miàn jiē lì chūn yǔ lián fā lěng nuǎn jiāo tì wēn chā dà
... Hot! Mingfeng faced the "spring rain continuously" with a large temperature difference between cold and warmth
...!买“10颗硬碟”送纽约5天4夜 惊人价差曝光
. . . ! mǎi 1 0 kē yìng dié sòng niǔ yuē 5 tiān 4 yè jīng rén jià chā pù guāng
...! Buy "10 hard drives" and get 5 days and 4 nights in New York, and the amazing price difference is exposed
欧元区2025年12月季调后经常帐录得顺差145...
ōu yuán ōu nián yuè jì diào hòu jīng cháng zhàng lù dé shùn chā . . .
The eurozone's December 2025 quarterly current account recorded a surplus of 145...
你去国外是玩儿还是出差？
Nǐ qùguówài shì wánr háishi chūchāi?
Did you go abroad for pleasure or on business?
邮差已经来过了吗？
Yóuchāi yǐjīng lái guo le ma?
Has the mailman already come?
你说什么？我听不见，这里信号太差了。
Nǐ shuō shénme? Wǒ tīngbujiàn, zhèlǐ xìnhào tài chà le.
What are you saying? I cannot hear, the signal here is too bad.
开车差不多需要几个小时？
Kāichē chàbuduō xūyào jǐge xiǎoshí?
About how many hours does it take by car?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 差 (chā) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 差 (chā)?
Is 差 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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