Expressing "almost" using "chadian"

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.

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

Examples

• 我 今天 差点儿 迟到 。 I wasn't lateWǒ jīntiān chàdiǎnr chídào.I was almost late today.
• 他们 差点 打 起来 。They didn't start a fight.Tāmen chàdiǎn dǎ qǐlái.They almost started a fight.
• 我 差点 笑 出来 。I didn't laugh.Wǒ chàdiǎn xiào chūlái.I almost laughed.
• 车 差点 撞到 我 。The car didn't hit me.Chē chàdiǎn zhuàngdào wǒ.The car almost hit me.
• 手机 差点 掉进 水 里 。The cell phone didn't fall into the waterShǒujī chàdiǎn diào jìn shuǐ lǐ.The cell phone nearly fell into the water.
• 我 差点 忘 了 。I didn't forget.Wǒ chàdiǎn wàng le.I almost forgot.
• 他 差点 就 死 了 。He didn't die.Tā chàdiǎn jiù sǐ le.He almost died.
• 菜 差点 糊 了 。It wasn't burned.Cài chàdiǎn hú le.The food was almost burnt.
• 我们 队 差点儿 就 输 了 。the team didn't loseWǒmen duì chàdiǎnr jiù shū le.Our team almost lost.
• 她 的 包 差点 就 丢 了 。She didn't lost her bag.Tā de bāo chàdiǎn jiù diū le.She almost lost her bag.

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

• "Nearly" with "jihu"
• Expressing "almost" using "chadianmei"

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