差 (chā) · difference, discrepancy, gap

Meanings

1 difference
2 discrepancy
3 gap

Characters

差

chā

difference

Examples

HSK 5

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.

HSK 6

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.

HSK 7-9

贫富差距越来越大。

Pínfù chājù yuèláiyuè dà.

The wealth gap is widening.

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.'