You might be used to thinking of 差不多 (chàbùduō) as a single word, and that's totally OK. But if you want to negate the whole idea of rough equivalency, then you need to think of it as a phrase and use 差很多 (chà hěn duō). Not surprisingly, it's a little less versatile than 差不多 (chàbùduō).
Structure
When 差不多 (chàbùduō) is a predicate, it literally means "the difference is not much." The opposite, then, would be 差很多 (chà hěn duō), which literally means "the difference is very great." Less literally, if 差不多 (chàbùduō) means "more or less the same," then 差很多 (chà hěn duō) means "not the same at all" or "very different."
Examples
- 你们 两 个 人 要 的 价格 差 很 多 。Nǐmen liǎng gè rén yào de jiàgé chà hěn duō.There is a big difference in price you two charge.
- 公司 对 新 老 员工 的 要求 差 很 多 。Gōngsī duì xīn lǎo yuángōng de yāoqiú chà hěn duō.There are huge differences in the company requirements for new employees and the old ones.
- 这 两 件 衣服 看起来 差不多 ，但是 质量 差 很 多 。Zhè liǎng jiàn yīfu kànqǐlái chàbuduō, dànshì zhìliàng chà hěn duō.These two pieces of clothing look pretty much the same, but their quality is very different.
- 我 的 生活 习惯 跟 我 父母 差 很 多 。Wǒ de shēnghuó xíguàn gēn wǒ fùmǔ chà hěn duō.My life habits are very different from my parents'.
- 我 和 我 男朋友 的 年龄 差 很 多 。Wǒ hé wǒ nánpéngyou de niánlíng chà hěn duō.There is a big difference between my age and my boyfriend's age.
- 中国 文化 和 西方 文化 差 很 多 。Zhōngguó wénhuà hé xīfāngwénhuà chà hěn duō.Chinese culture and western culture are quite different.
- 员工 的 收入 跟 老板 的 收入 差 很 多 。Yuángōng de shōurù gēn wǒlǎobǎn de shōurù chà hěn duō.There is a huge difference in income between the employees and the boss.
- 他们 是 双胞胎 兄弟 ，但是 两 个 人 的 性格 差 很 多 。Tāmen shì shuāngbāotāi xiōngdì, dànshì liǎng gè rén de xìnggé chà hěn duō.They are twin brothers, but there is a big difference in personality between them.
- 两个 老师 都 很 好 ，不过 教学 风格 差 很 多 。Liǎng gè lǎoshī dōu hěn hǎo, bùguò jiàoxué fēnggé chà hěn duō.They are both great teachers, but their teaching styles are very different.
- 这 两 个 词 的 意思 差不多，但是 用法 差 很 多 。Zhè liǎng gè cí de yìsi chàbùduō, dànshì yòngfǎ chà hěn duō.The meanings of these two words are basically the same, but their usages are very different.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
Dictionaries
Category:B1 grammar points