Difference between revisions of "Expressing "almost" using "chadian""

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== Literal Meaning ==
 
== 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.
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It might help to understand the literal meaning of the structure.  The word 差 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 ==
 
== Structure ==

Revision as of 10:08, 9 January 2018

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 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

  • 差点I didn't forget.chàdiǎn wàng le.I almost forgot.
  • 我 今天 差点儿 迟到 I wasn't lateWǒ jīntiān chàdiǎnr chídào le.I was almost late today.
  • 差点 撞到 我 。The car didn't hit me.Chē chàdiǎn zhuàngdào wǒ.The car almost hit me.
  • 他们 差点 打 起来 。They didn't start a fight.Tāmen chàdiǎn dǎ qǐlái.They almost started a fight.
  • 我们 差点 相信 他 。We didn't believe himWǒmen chàdiǎn xiāngxìn tā.We almost believed him.
  • 差点She didn't go crazy.chàdiǎn fēng le.She almost went crazy.
  • 差点 He didn't die.chàdiǎn jiùle.He almost died.
  • 差点It wasn't burned.Cài chàdiǎnle.The food was almost burnt.
  • 我们 队 差点儿the team didn't loseWǒmen duì chàdiǎnr shū le.Our team almost lost.
  • 差点 做到 I didn't did it.chàdiǎn jiù zuòdào le.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

Dictionaries