Definition
差一点 is an adverbial set phrase meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'. It often appears with 就 to indicate something almost happened but didn't. When used with 没 before the verb, it can mean that an undesirable event was narrowly avoided (e.g., 差一点没死 'narrowly escaped death'). The nuance depends on whether the event is desirable or not.
adv.
almostnearly(with 没) narrowly avoidedbarely escaped
Examples
- 差一点。Tā chà yī diǎn jiù chénggōng le.He almost succeeded.
- 差一点。Tā chà yī diǎn méi bèi chē zhuàng dào.He narrowly escaped being hit by a car.
- 差一点。Zhège jìhuà chà yī diǎn jiù qǔxiāo le.This plan was almost cancelled.
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