差 (chā): difference

Meanings

1 difference
2 discrepancy
3 gap

Characters

差

chā

difference

Examples

两国之间的文化差异很大。

Liǎng guó zhījiān de wénhuà chāyì hěn dà.

There is a big cultural difference between the two countries.

贫富差距越来越大。

Pínfù chājù yuèláiyuè dà.

The wealth gap is widening.

北京和纽约的时差是十三小时。

Běijīng hé Niǔyuē de shíchā shì shísān xiǎoshí.

The time difference between Beijing and New York is thirteen hours.

Tips

mistakes

Standalone 差 as a noun ('difference') is rare in everyday speech — it lives mainly inside compounds like 差异, 差距, 差别, and 时差. Don't confuse with chà (bad) or chāi (errand) — same character, different tone, different meaning.

usage

In math and statistics, 差 is the technical word for the result of subtraction: five minus three, the 差 is two. The same chā shows up in 误差 (error), 偏差 (deviation), and 顺差 (trade surplus).

Components

radical

工 gōng

work; tool

The 工 radical at the bottom serves as the indexing handle and represents a measuring tool — a carpenter's square. Combined with the sheep above, the character pictures the act of measuring and grading livestock. The discrepancies revealed by such measuring became the abstract 'difference, lack.' Indexing radical.

semantic

羊 yáng

sheep (compressed form)

The upper portion is a compressed 羊 (sheep) — head and horns visible. Combined with the 工 (work/tool) component below, the original character depicted measuring or selecting sheep, comparing one to another. From 'comparing/sorting' came 'difference,' and from notice of inequality came 'poor, lacking.'