ChineseGrammarWiki/Programmes/B1.old/Grammar-wiki-B1-31.txt

{{Grammar Box}} 

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."

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 差很多 
</div>

<div class="jiegou">
A + 跟 / 和 + B + 差很多
</div>

== Examples ==

<div class="liju">

*你们 两 个 人 要 的 价格 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen liǎng gè rén yào de jiàgé <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">There is a big difference in price you two charge.</span>
*公司 对 新 老 员工 的 要求 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Gōngsī duì xīn lǎo yuángōng de yāoqiú <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">There are huge differences in the company requirements for new employees and the old ones.</span>
*这 两 件 衣服 看起来 差不多 ，但是 质量 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Zhè liǎng jiàn yīfu kànqǐlái chàbuduō, dànshì zhìliàng <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">These two pieces of clothing look pretty much the same, but their quality is very different.</span>
*我 的 生活 习惯 <em>跟</em> 我 父母 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ de shēnghuó xíguàn <em>gēn</em> wǒ fùmǔ <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">My life habits are very different from my parents'.</span>
*我 <em>和</em> 我 男朋友 的 年龄 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>hé</em> wǒ nánpéngyou de niánlíng<em> chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">There is a big difference between my age and my boyfriend's age.</span>
*中国 文化 <em>和</em> 西方 文化 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngguó wénhuà <em>hé</em> xīfāngwénhuà <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">Chinese culture and western culture are quite different.</span>
*员工 的 收入 <em>跟</em> 老板 的 收入 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Yuángōng de shōurù <em>gēn</em> wǒlǎobǎn de shōurù <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">There is a huge difference in income between the employees and the boss.</span>
*他们 是 双胞胎 兄弟 ，但是 两 个 人 的 性格 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen shì shuāngbāotāi xiōngdì, dànshì liǎng gè rén de xìnggé <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">They are twin brothers, but there is a big difference in personality between them.</span>
*两个 老师 都 很 好 ，不过 教学 风格 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Liǎng gè lǎoshī dōu hěn hǎo, bùguò jiàoxué fēnggé <em> chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">They are both great teachers, but their teaching styles are very different.</span>
*这 两 个 词 的 意思 差不多，但是 用法 <em>差 很 多</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Zhè liǎng gè cí de yìsi chàbùduō, dànshì yòngfǎ <em>chà hěn duō</em>.</span><span class="trans">The meanings of these two words are basically the same, but their usages are very different.</span>

</div>

==See also==

*[[Expressing "almost" using "chadian mei"]]
*[[Expressing "almost" using "chadian"]]
*[["Nearly" with "jihu"]]

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Books ===

*[[现代汉语八百词（增订本）]] (p. 111) [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&qid=1345693275&sr=8-1 →buy]
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1]] (pp. 54-5) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276792/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276792 →buy]
* [[Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar]] (p. 116) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 →buy]

=== Dictionaries ===
* [[现代汉语词典（第5版）]] (p. 145) [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&qid=1345693609&sr=8-1 →buy]

[[Category:B1 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|差很多|B1|Subj. + 差很多|中国 文化 和 西方 文化 <em>差 很 多</em> 。|grammar point|ASGQAN74}}
{{Rel char|差}}
{{Rel char|很}}
{{Rel char|多}}
{{Similar|"Nearly" with "jihu"}}  
{{POS|Adverbs}}
{{Used for| Expressing degree}}
{{Used for|Expressing similarity}}
{{Translation|almost}}