差 (chā / chà) — difference; lacking; poor
HSK 2 | adjective/noun | two readings: chā (difference/gap) and chà (substandard/lacking)
差 (chā / chà)
差 has two common readings with different meanings. As chā (1st tone) it refers to a difference or gap between two quantities. As chà (4th tone) it means poor quality, substandard, or lacking something. Context and tone are what distinguish them.
Meanings
- [noun] chā Difference; gap. Used in math and in expressions about the gap between two values.
- [adjective] chà Poor; bad; lacking. Describes something that falls short of a standard or expectation.
Example Sentences
两个数字的差是五。 Liǎng gè shùzì de chā shì wǔ. The difference between the two numbers is five.
他的汉语说得很差。 Tā de Hànyǔ shuō de hěn chà. His spoken Chinese is very poor.
这家餐厅的服务质量很差。 Zhè jiā cāntīng de fúwù zhìliàng hěn chà. The service quality at this restaurant is very poor.
还差十分钟就到了。 Hái chà shí fēnzhōng jiù dào le. It's still ten minutes short of arriving (ten minutes to go).
Collocations
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 差距 (chājù) | gap; disparity |
| 差别 (chābié) | difference; distinction |
| 质量差 (zhìliàng chà) | poor quality |
| 差不多 (chàbuduō) | almost; about the same |
| 相差 (xiāngchā) | to differ by; the difference is |
Memory Hook
A "CHA-cha" dance has two steps with a gap between them — that gap is the chā (差). But if a dancer performs poorly, the dance quality is chà (差). Same character, two very different moods.