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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>To say that something bad <em>almost</em> happened (but didn't),
you can add the word 差点 (chàdiǎn) before the verb. You will also
hear 差点儿 (chàdiǎnr) in northern China. There is no difference in
meaning between 差点 and 差点儿.</p>
<h2 id="literal-meaning">Literal Meaning</h2>
<p>It might help to understand the literal meaning of the
structure. The word 差 (chà) has a lot of meanings. In this case, it
means "to lack," or "to be short." So in Chinese, the way to say
"almost" is to say, "lacking that little bit." If that "little bit"
hadn't been lacking, it <em>would have</em> happened. But it
<em>was</em> lacking, so it didn't happen。Technically, it
<em>almost</em> happened. Just remember: The fact is always
opposite with the verb phrase after "差点(儿)," whether the verb
phrase contains "没" or not.</p>
<h2 id="pattern-without-了">Pattern without 了</h2>
<p>Note that the "Verb Phrase" part of the structure is usually
something bad or something you don't wish for, and that it
<strong>didn't happen</strong>.</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + 差点(儿) + [Verb Phrase]</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 今天 <em>差点儿</em> 迟到 。 <span class="expl">I wasn't
late</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>chàdiǎnr</em>
chídào.</span><span class="trans">I was almost late.</span></li>
<li>他们 <em>差点</em> 打 起来 。<span class="expl">They didn't start a
fight.</span><span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>chàdiǎn</em> dǎ
qǐlái.</span><span class="trans">They almost started a
fight.</span></li>
<li>我 <em>差点</em> 笑 出来。<span class="expl">I didn't
laugh.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>chàdiǎn</em> xiào
chūlái.</span><span class="trans">I almost laughed.</span></li>
<li>车 <em>差点</em> 撞到 我 。<span class="expl">The car didn't hit
me.</span><span class="pinyin">Chē <em>chàdiǎn</em> zhuàngdào
wǒ.</span><span class="trans">The car almost hit me.</span></li>
<li>手机 <em>差点</em> 掉进 水 里 。 <span class="expl">The cell phone
didn't fall into the water</span><span class="pinyin">Shǒujī
<em>chàdiǎn</em> diào jìn shuǐ. lǐ.</span><span class="trans">The
cell phone nearly fell into the water.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="pattern-with-了">Pattern with 了</h2>
<p>You can put 就 after 差点(儿) when 了 is used 了. In this case, 就 can
be omitted. 了 comes right before the object if an object is
included in the verb phrase.</p>
<h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + 差点(儿) + (就) + [Verb Phrase] / Adj. + 了</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 <em>差点</em> 忘 了 今天 要 开会 。 <span class="expl">I didn't
forget.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>chàdiǎn</em> wàng le
.</span><span class="trans">I almost forgot we need to have a
meeting today.</span></li>
<li>我们 <em>差点儿</em> 错过 了 最后 一 班 地铁。 <span class="expl">We didn't
miss it.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>chàdiǎnr</em> cuòguò
le zuìhòu yī bān dìtiě.</span><span class="trans">We almost missed
the last metro.</span></li>
<li>菜 <em>差点</em> <strong>就</strong> 糊 了。 <span class="expl">It
wasn't burned.</span><span class="pinyin">Cài <em>chàdiǎn</em>
<strong>jiù</strong> hú le.</span> <span class="trans">almost
.</span></li>
<li>我们 队 <em>差点儿</em> <strong>就</strong> 输 了。 <span class=
"expl">the team didn't lose</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen duì
<em>chàdiǎnr</em> <strong>jiù</strong> shū le.</span><span class=
"trans">Our team almost lost.</span></li>
<li>这个 东西 <em>差点</em> <strong>就</strong> 丢 了 。 <span class="expl">I
did't lost it.</span><span class="pinyin">Zhège dōngxi
<em>chàdiǎn</em> <strong>jiù</strong> diū le.</span><span class=
"trans">I almost lost the thing.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="using-差点-with-没">Using 差点 with 没</h2>
<p>This can get confusing, even though it's really the same pattern
(and same logic) with a little added complexity. This pattern goes
beyond the difficulty level of the needs of the B1 learner, so to
learn more about this usage, see <a href=
"expressing_&quot;almost&quot;_using_&quot;chadian_mei&quot;"
title="wikilink">expressing "almost" using "chadian mei"</a>.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="&quot;Nearly&quot;_with_&quot;jihu&quot;" title=
"wikilink">"Nearly" with "jihu"</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Expressing_&quot;almost&quot;_using_&quot;chadianmei&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing "almost" using "chadianmei"</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href=
"%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D%EF%BC%88%E5%A2%9E%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%89"
class="uri" title="wikilink">现代汉语八百词（增订本）</a> (pp. 112) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D/dp/B001198GSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345693275&amp;sr=8-1">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8B%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89"
title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课下册）</a> (p. 341)<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dictionaries">Dictionaries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href=
"%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8%EF%BC%88%E7%AC%AC5%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89"
class="uri" title="wikilink">现代汉语词典（第5版）</a> (pp. 145) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8/dp/B001B1RZCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345693609&amp;sr=8-1">
→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a></p>
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