Difference between revisions of "Expressing "almost" using "chadian""
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| + | *我 <em>差点</em> 忘 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">I didn't forget.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>chàdiǎn</em> wàng <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I almost forgot.</span> | ||
*我 今天 <em>差点儿</em> 迟到 <strong>了</strong> 。 <span class="expl">I wasn't late</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ jīntiān <em>chàdiǎnr</em> chídào <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I was almost late today.</span> | *我 今天 <em>差点儿</em> 迟到 <strong>了</strong> 。 <span class="expl">I wasn't late</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ jīntiān <em>chàdiǎnr</em> chídào <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I was almost late today.</span> | ||
*车 <em>差点</em> 撞到 我 。<span class="expl">The car didn't hit me.</span><span class="pinyin">Chē <em>chàdiǎn</em> zhuàngdào wǒ.</span><span class="trans">The car almost hit me.</span> | *车 <em>差点</em> 撞到 我 。<span class="expl">The car didn't hit me.</span><span class="pinyin">Chē <em>chàdiǎn</em> zhuàngdào wǒ.</span><span class="trans">The car almost hit me.</span> | ||
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*他们 <em>差点</em> 打 起来 。<span class="expl">They didn't start a fight.</span><span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>chàdiǎn</em> dǎ qǐlái.</span><span class="trans">They almost started a fight.</span> | *他们 <em>差点</em> 打 起来 。<span class="expl">They didn't start a fight.</span><span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>chàdiǎn</em> dǎ qǐlái.</span><span class="trans">They almost started a fight.</span> | ||
*我们 <em>差点</em> 相信 他 。<span class="expl">We didn't believe him</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>chàdiǎn</em> xiāngxìn tā.</span><span class="trans">We almost believed him.</span> | *我们 <em>差点</em> 相信 他 。<span class="expl">We didn't believe him</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>chàdiǎn</em> xiāngxìn tā.</span><span class="trans">We almost believed him.</span> | ||
| + | *她 <em>差点</em> 疯 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">She didn't go crazy.</span><span class="pinyin">Tā <em>chàdiǎn</em> fēng <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">She almost went crazy.</span> | ||
*他 <em>差点</em> <strong>就</strong> 死 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">He didn't die.</span><span class="pinyin">Tā <em>chàdiǎn</em> <strong>jiù</strong> sǐ <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">He almost died.</span> | *他 <em>差点</em> <strong>就</strong> 死 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">He didn't die.</span><span class="pinyin">Tā <em>chàdiǎn</em> <strong>jiù</strong> sǐ <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">He almost died.</span> | ||
*菜 <em>差点</em> 糊 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">It wasn't burned.</span><span class="pinyin">Cài <em>chàdiǎn</em> hú <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">The food was almost burnt.</span> | *菜 <em>差点</em> 糊 <strong>了</strong> 。<span class="expl">It wasn't burned.</span><span class="pinyin">Cài <em>chàdiǎn</em> hú <strong>le</strong>.</span><span class="trans">The food was almost burnt.</span> | ||
Revision as of 10:07, 9 January 2018
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Level
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Keywords
To say that something bad almost happened (but didn't), you can add the word 差点 (chàdiǎn) before the verb. You will also hear 差点儿 (chàdiǎnr) in northern China. There is no difference in meaning between 差点 and 差点儿.
Contents
Literal Meaning
It might help to understand the literal meaning of the structure. The word 差 (chà) has a lot of meanings. In this case, it means "to lack," or "to be short." So in Chinese, the way to say "almost" is to say, "lacking that little bit." If that "little bit" hadn't been lacking, it would have happened. But it was lacking, so it didn't happen. Technically, it almost happened. Just remember: The fact is always opposite with the verb phrase after 差点(儿), whether the verb phrase contains "没" or not.
Structure
Note that the "Verb Phrase" part of the structure is usually something bad or something you don't wish for, and that it didn't happen.
Subj. + 差点(儿) + Predicate
You can put 了 at the end of the sentence for emphasis. In this case, 就 is often used and it's optional.
Subj. + 差点(儿) + (就) + Predicate + 了
The predicate part of the pattern can be a verb or an adjective.
Examples
- 我 差点 忘 了 。I didn't forget.I almost forgot.
- 我 今天 差点儿 迟到 了 。 I wasn't lateI was almost late today.
- 车 差点 撞到 我 。The car didn't hit me.The car almost hit me.
- 他们 差点 打 起来 。They didn't start a fight.They almost started a fight.
- 我们 差点 相信 他 。We didn't believe himWe almost believed him.
- 她 差点 疯 了 。She didn't go crazy.She almost went crazy.
- 他 差点 就 死 了 。He didn't die.He almost died.
- 菜 差点 糊 了 。It wasn't burned.The food was almost burnt.
- 我们 队 差点儿 输 了 。the team didn't loseOur team almost lost.
- 我 差点 就 做到 了 。I didn't did it.I almost did it.
Using 差点 with 没
This can get confusing, even though it's really the same pattern (and same logic) with a little added complexity. This pattern goes beyond the difficulty level of the needs of the B1 learner, so to learn more about this usage, see expressing "almost" using "chadian mei".
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 112) [ →buy]
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 341) [ →buy]
Dictionaries
- 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 145) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
