截然不同

jiérán-bùtóng

idiom HSK 7-9 #10,052

Meanings

1 completely different
2 entirely distinct
3 poles apart

Characters

to cut; to sever

so; thus (adverb suffix)

Examples

这两种方法截然不同。

Zhè liǎng zhǒng fāngfǎ jiéránbùtóng.

These two methods are completely different.

他和他哥哥的性格截然不同。

Tā hé tā gēge de xìnggé jiéránbùtóng.

His personality is completely different from his brother's.

Tips

memory

截然 means 'sharply; clearly cut' (like 截断 = to cut off). Picture a clean, sharp cut separating two totally different things.

Stroke Order

截 jié

然 rán

不 bù

同 tóng