差强人意 (chā qiáng rén yì) — just passable, barely satisfactory
Definition
A formal idiom meaning 'barely satisfactory' or 'passable, but not impressive' — the gap is small but the result still falls short of expectations. Often used to soften a negative assessment.
idiom
just passablebarely satisfactory
Examples
- 差强人意，。Zhè cì kǎo shì de chéng jì zhǐ néng shuō chā qiáng rén yì, hái xū yào jì xù nǔ lì.The results of this exam are just passable; I still need to keep working hard.
- ，差强人意。Tā de biǎo xiàn suī bù wán měi, dàn zǒng suàn chā qiáng rén yì ba.His performance, though not perfect, is barely acceptable after all.
- 差强人意，。Zhè jiā cān tīng de cài wèi dào chā qiáng rén yì, jià gé què fēi cháng guì.The food at this restaurant is just passable, yet the prices are very high.
Appears in
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