差一点儿

差一點兒

chàyīdiǎnr

adverb #23,370

Meanings

1 almost
2 nearly
3 by a hair's breadth
4 just short of

Characters

to fall short of / to differ

a little / a bit

erhua suffix (Beijing dialect)

Examples

我差一点儿就赶上了那班车。

Wǒ chà yīdiǎnr jiù gǎnshàng le nà bān chē.

I almost caught that bus.

他差一点儿摔倒了。

Tā chà yīdiǎnr shuāidǎo le.

He nearly fell down.

Tips

grammar

The double-negative trap: 差一点儿 + positive verb = the thing did NOT happen ('almost did'). 差一点儿 + negative verb = the thing DID happen ('almost didn't, but did'). Example: 差一点儿没死 = nearly died (he survived, but barely). Many learners get this backwards.

Stroke Order

差 chà

一 yī

点 diǎn

儿 ér