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差一点 (chà yī diǎn) — almost, nearly; (with 没) narrowly avoided, barely escaped

Definition

An adverb meaning 'almost / nearly', often followed by 就. Paired with 没, it means something bad narrowly didn't happen (e.g. 差一点没迟到 = 'almost was late').

adverb
almostnearly(with 没) narrowly avoidedbarely escaped

Examples

  • 差一点。
    Tā chà yī diǎn jiù chéng gōng 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。
    Zhè ge jì huà chà yī diǎn jiù qǔ xiāo le.
    This plan was almost cancelled.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

差chàfall short
一点a little
一yīone点diǎnpoint
偏正Modifier + head

差 means to fall short, and 一点 means a little; together they express almost or narrowly.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 來來láiwheat
  • 𠂇𠂇𠂇left hand

差 pairs 來 (wheat) with 𠂇 (left hand), showing wheat rubbed in a hand to remove its hull.

Open 差 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn點diǎn(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

Open 点 →
Appears in
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