Approximations with "chabuduo"

差不多 (chàbùduō), translated literally, means "the difference is not much." Essentially what it means in Chinese is "more or less," and is useful for expressing rough approximations. It can be used as an adjective or an adverb.

"差不多" as an Adjective

Simple Structure

When several things are 差不多 (chàbùduō), it means they are "more or less the same." (The part that means "the same" is understood in Chinese.)

Structure

Subj. + 差不多

Examples

• 这 几 个 地方 都 差不多。Zhè jǐ gè dìfāng dōu chàbùduō.These places are all pretty much the same.
• 这 两 个 词 的 意思 差不多。Zhè liǎng gè cí de yìsi chàbùduō.These two words' meanings are more or less the same.
• 我们 的 想法 差不多。Wǒmen de xiǎngfǎ chàbùduō.Our ways of thinking are pretty much the same.
• 这 两 家 餐厅 的 菜 都 差不多。Zhè liǎng jiā cāntīng de cài dōu chàbùduō.These two restaurants' dishes are all more or less the same.
• 我们 的 中文 水平 差不多。Wǒmen de Zhōngwén shuǐpíng chàbùduō.Our levels of Chinese are more or less the same.

Structure

Another often used structure is:

A 跟/和 B + 差不多

Examples

• 上海 和 纽约 差不多。Shànghǎi hé Niǔyuē chàbùduō.Shanghai and New York are basically the same.
• Starbucks 和 Costa 差不多。 Starbucks hé Costa chàbùduō.Starbucks and Coster are almost the same.
• 他 的 衣服 跟 老师 的 衣服 差不多。 Tā de yīfu gēn lǎoshī de yīfu chàbùduō.His clothes and the teacher's clothes are more or less the same.
• 你 的 工作 跟 我 的 工作 差不多。 Nǐ de gōngzuò gēn wǒ de gōngzuò chàbùduō.Your job and my job are more or less the same.
• 这 里 的 天气 跟 北京 差不多。Zhè lǐ de tiānqì gēn Běijīng chàbùduō. The weather here is pretty much like Beijing.

Antonym "差很多"

When 差不多 (chàbùduō) is an adjective, it literally means "the difference is not much." The opposite, then would be 差很多 (chà hěn duō), which literally means "the difference is very great." Less literally, if 差不多 (chàbùduō) means "more or less the same," then 差很多 (chà hěn duō) means "not the same at all."

Structure

This first pattern tells you the two are not roughly equal, but it is not always clear which is better or which is worse. Sometimes it just means they are "very different."

Subj. + 差 很 多

A 跟/和 B + 差 很 多

Examples

• 我 和 我男朋友 的 年龄 差 很 多 。 Wǒ hé wǒ nánpéngyou de niánlíng chà hěn duō.There is a big difference between my age and my boyfriend's age.
• 中国 文化 和 西方 文化 差 很 多 。 Zhōngguó wénhuà hé xīfāngwénhuà chà hěn duō.Chinese culture and western culture are quite different.
• 我 的 收入 跟 我老板 的 收入 差 很 多 。Wǒ de shōurù gēn wǒlǎobǎn de shōurù chà hěn duō.There is a huge difference between my income and my boss'.
• 这 两 家 店 的 东西 价格 差 很 多 。Zhè liáng jiā diàn de dōngxi jiàgé chà hěn duō.There is a big difference in price between these two shops.
• 这 两 个 词 的 意思 差不多，但是 用法 差 很 多 。Zhè liǎng gè cí de yìsi chàbùduō, dànshì yòngfǎ chà hěn duō.The meanings of these two words are basically the same, but their usages are very different.

"差不多" as an adverb

When using 差不多 (chàbùduō) as an adverb, place it before the adjective or verb.

Structure

差不多 + Adj./Verb

Examples

• 这 两 个 孩子 差不多 大。Zhè liǎng gè háizi chàbùduō dà.These two children are more or less the same age.
• 我 跟 我哥哥 差不多 高。Wǒ gēnwǒ gēgechàbùduō gāo.My elder brother and I are more or less the same height.
• 我 差不多 到 公园 门口 了。Wǒ chàbùduō dào gōngyuán ménkǒu le.I'm almost at the entrance of the park.
• 电影 差不多 要 开始 了。Diànyǐng chàbùduōyào kāishǐ le.The movie is almost about to start.
• 今天 的 工作 差不多 做 完 了。Jīntiān de gōngzuò chàbùduō zuò wán le.Today‘s work is almost over.

“差不多" with a quantity or time phrase

After 差不多 (chàbùduō) you can also add a phrase that expresses quantity or time. This makes it clear that you're giving a rough estimate.

Structure

差不多 ＋[quantity phrase] / [time phrase]

Examples

• 你 儿子 差不多 五 岁 了 吧？Nǐérzi chàbùduō wǔ suì le ba?Your son should be about 5 years old now, right?
• 他 住 在 上海 差不多 三 个 月 了。Tā zhù zài Shànghǎi chàbùduō sān gè yuèle.He has lived in Shanghai for about three months.
• 我 在 这 家 公司 工作 差不多 十 年 了。Wǒ zài gōngzuòle chàbùduō shí nián le.I worked in this company for almost ten years.
• 我父母 结婚 差不多 二十 年 了。Wǒfùmǔ jiéhūn chàbùduō shí nián le.My parents have been married for about twenty years.
• 差不多 两 个 星期 以前，我 在 北京 见 过 他。Chàbùduō liǎng gè xīngqí yǐqián, wǒ zài Běijīng jiàn guo tā.About two weeks ago I met with him in Beijing.

See also

• Expressing "almost" using "chadian mei"
• Expressing "almost" using "chadian"
• "Nearly" with "jihu"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 111) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 54-5) →buy
• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 116) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 145) →buy