Chinese word

差异

Pronunciation

Pinyinchā yì

Meaning

  • noundifference

Example

这两个产品的差异很小。zhè liǎng gè chán pǐn de chā yì hén xiǎo

The difference between these two products is small.

Illustration for 差异 (difference)

More examples

不同地区的教育资源差异会影响学生的学习机会。bù tóng dì qū de jiào yù zī yuán chā yì huì yíng xiǎng xué shēng de xué xí jī huì

Differences in educational resources across regions can affect students' learning opportunities.

Core concept

The feature that sets two compared things apart.

Common phrases

  • 文化差异wén huà chā yì

    cultural differences

  • 年龄差异nián líng chā yì

    age differences

  • 个体差异gè tǐ chā yì

    individual differences

Similar words

差别chā bié: A difference that appears when two things are viewed side by side.
区别qū bié: A noticeable difference that helps tell one thing from another.
差距chā jù: The size of the gap between amounts, levels, or other measurable standards.

Definition in Chinese

表示两者在性质、程度或状态上存在不同之处，常用于书面或正式语境，用来说明比较后发现的不一致或差别。biǎo shì liáng zhě zài xìng zhì chéng dù huò zhuàng tài shàng cún zài bù tóng zhī chù cháng yòng yú shū miàn huò zhèng shì yǔ jìng yòng lái shuō míng bǐ jiào hòu fā xiàn de bù yí zhì huò chā bié

Word origin

In 差异 (chāyì, "difference"), 差 (chā, "disparity") marks an uneven relation and 异 (yì, "different") marks what does not match, making the compound easy to connect with comparison.

Usage tips

  • The noun often combines with words meaning large or small to show whether the contrast is wide or slight without restating the compared features.

Other meanings

  • distinctionnoun
  • gapnoun

Opposites

  • 同一性tóng yí xìngidentitynoun
  • 相似性xiāng sì xìngsimilaritynoun

Related words

  • 差异性chā yì xìngdifferentialitynoun
  • 差异化chā yì huàdifferentiateverb

Word lists with this word