Chinese word

差一点儿

Pronunciation

Pinyinchà yī diǎnr

Meaning

  • adverbalmost

Example

我差一点儿迟到。wǒ chà yì diǎnr chí dào

I was almost late.

Illustration for 差一点儿 (almost)

More examples

我差一点儿没买到票。wǒ chà yì diǎnr méi mǎi dào piào

I almost didn't get a ticket.

Core concept

A result is just beyond a tiny gap, so an event comes close to happening but does not happen.

Common phrases

  • 差一点儿就迟到chà yì diǎnr jiù chí dào

    almost be late

  • 差一点儿没赶上chà yì diǎnr méi gǎn shàng

    almost miss it

Similar words

差一点chà yì diǎn: A colloquial adverb meaning that something nearly happens or is nearly achieved.
几乎jī hū: An adverb meaning nearly, with a state or event close to completion or occurrence.
险些xiǎn xiē: A somewhat formal adverb meaning that a bad or dangerous outcome nearly occurs.

Definition in Chinese

表示某事几乎发生但最终未发生或险些发生的口语副词，通常置于动词前，表示与结果只差一点。biǎo shì mǒu shì jī hū fā shēng dàn zuì zhōng wèi fā shēng huò xiǎn xiē fā shēng de kóu yǔ fù cí tōng cháng zhì yú dòng cí qián biǎo shì yǔ jié guǒ zhǐ chà yì diǎn

Word origin

差一点儿 (chàyīdiǎner, "short by a little") combines 差 (chà, "be short of") with 一点儿 (yīdiǎnr, "a little"), forming the image of missing a result by a tiny amount.

Usage tips

  • The phrase works for both unwanted outcomes that were avoided and desired outcomes that were missed, so the surrounding verb and context show whether the near result was welcome.

Other meanings

  • narrowlyadverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word