Approximations with "chabuduo"

差不多 (chàbuduō), 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 a predicate or an adverb.

"差不多" as a Predicate

Don't get nervous about the word "predicate"; it's simply the rest of the sentence that comes after the subject. So "差不多" can be used pretty much all by itself to complete a sentence after you tell us what subjects we're talking about.

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

Simple Subject

Let's first assume that the subject is an easily understood group of people or things.

Structure

Subj. + (都) + 差不多

Examples

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

Several Subjects

Let's add in a few different subjects now, using the Chinese word for "and."

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 chàbuduō.Shanghai and New York are basically the same.
• Starbucks 和 Costa 差不多。 Starbucks hé Costa chàbuduō.Starbucks and Coster are almost the same.
• 这里 的 天气 跟 台湾 的 天气 差不多。 Zhè lǐ de tiānqì gēn Táiwān de tiānqì chàbuduō.The weather here is pretty much like Taiwan's.
• 你 的 工作 跟 我 的 工作 差不多。 Nǐ de gōngzuò gēn wǒ de gōngzuò chàbuduō.Your job and my job are almost the same.
• 你 的 新 手机 跟 我 的 旧 手机 差不多。Nǐ de xīn shǒujī gēn wǒ de jiù shǒujī chàbuduō.Your new cellphone is petty much like my old cellphone.

"差不多" as an Adverb

When using 差不多 (chàbuduō) 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 chàbuduō dà. These two children are more or less the same age.
• 我 跟 我哥哥 差不多 高。Wǒ gēn wǒ gēge chàbuduō gāo. My elder brother and I are more or less the same height.
• 我 差不多 到 公园 门口 了。Wǒ chàbuduō dào gōngyuán ménkǒu le. I'm almost at the entrance of the park.
• 电影 差不多 要 开始 了。Diànyǐng chàbuduō yào kāishǐ le. The movie is almost about to start.
• 今天 的 工作 差不多 做 完 了。Jīntiān de gōngzuò chàbuduō zuò wán le. Today‘s work is almost done.

“差不多" with a Quantity or Time Phrase

After 差不多 (chàbuduō) 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 chàbuduō wǔ suì le ba?Your son should be about 5 years old, right?
• 他 住 在 上海 差不多 三 个 月 了。Tā zhù zài Shànghǎi chàbuduō sān gè yuè le. 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 zhè jiā gōngsī gōngzuò le chàbuduō shí nián le. I've worked for this company for almost ten years.
• 我父母 结婚 差不多 二十 年 了。Wǒfùmǔ jiéhūn chàbuduō èrshí 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。chàbuduō 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