<p>差 = 相差 (difference) ;差距 (gap)</p>
<p>不多 = not much</p>
<blockquote>
<p>差不多 :</p>
<p>(adj) not much difference/ not much gap between</p>
<p>(adv): almost / about</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Example of 差不多 as adjective:</p>
<p>味道差不多 (not much difference in taste) - <em>could be slightly better or slightly worse</em></p>
<p>價格差不多 (not much difference in price) - <em>could be slightly higher or slightly lower</em></p>
<p>Example of 差不多 as adverb:</p>
<p>差不多到了 means &quot;we're almost there&quot; (<em>not quite there yet, but close to</em>)</p>
<p>差不多死了  means &quot;almost died&quot; or &quot;about to die&quot; ( <em>not dead yet but will be soon</em>)</p>
<p>When A ask B how much is the book,  and B said: &quot;<strong>差不多</strong>50块&quot;, it mean &quot;it <strong>is almost</strong> 50 yuan&quot; (= not quite 50 yuan)</p>
<p>When A found out the actual price is 52 yuan, he has every right to accuse B of lying.</p>
<p>And B's excuse: &quot;52块, 50块 <strong>差不多</strong>吧?&quot; (52 yuan and  50 yuan is <strong>not much a difference</strong> right?) is using 差不多 in a different way.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Does 差不多 (chàbùduō) imply “slightly less than” when comparing quantities?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>When 差不多 is used  as an adverb (is <strong>almost</strong>) + quantities, it dose imply “slightly less than”, But when 差不多 is used as an adjective (<strong>not much difference</strong>), then it only mean the objects are similar in some form of comparison.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A 比 B 差不多</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The correct form:</p>
<p>A 跟 B 差不多 = not much difference between A and B</p>
<p>A 比 B <strong>差</strong>不了多少 = Compare to B, A is not much <strong>worse</strong></p>
<p><em>A 比 B 差不多 is not grammatical</em></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T05:04:07.033Z
It seems writing A比B差不多 was a bit of an embarrassing mistake.  Oh well... I guess I'll make many more mistakes along this path.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T07:27:10.907Z
@Becky李蓓 Also, 差（cha1）means difference, and 差（cha4）means worse.
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T08:11:47.683Z
@TooskyHierot Not always the  case. E.g.差(cha4)不多
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T03:29:50.817Z
2019-10-04T04:12:08.077Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>The most common phrasing is A<em>和</em>B差不多. 差不多，as a whole, means <strong><em>not much difference</em></strong>. </p>

<p>You can say 你的身高和我差不多 or 我们俩个差不多一样高. </p>

<p>If you want to use 比， you can say 和我比你还差得远，你和我比还差得远 etc. </p>

<p>It's worth to note 你比我差不多 doesn't work quite well because 差不多 is almost a set phrase to mean <em>not much difference</em>(which is different from what you expect it to mean).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T04:40:14.593Z
2019-10-04T04:40:14.593Z
dan
<p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/eng/%E5%B7%AE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">差</a> implies a kind of deficiency, so I expect</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A比B差不多</p>
</blockquote>

<p>to mean A is slightly "worse" than B in some way.  For example, I would expect</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>我比你差不多高</p>
</blockquote>

<p>to imply I am slightly shorter than you.  I'm not sure if this is correct, as <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B7%AE%E4%B8%8D%E5%A4%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">差不多</a> is also used to mean "about".</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Does 差不多 imply "slightly less than" when comparing quantities?</p>

<p>I could imagine a conversation along these lines (I made this up):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A：你说那本书是50块，可是就是52块，你说错了。<br>
  B：哎哟，差不多吧。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>where A is grumpy that the book was 52 yuan, when B previously told A that it was 50 yuan, but B says it's 差不多 (much the same).  In this context, it seems like 差不多 means "about" and not "almost".  Here 52 is greater than 50, so this raises some doubt.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T03:26:51.180Z
差不多=相差不多=the difference is small. Note that it doesn't mean worse
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-04T04:03:14.047Z
pretty much the same I think that the accurate translation. A比B差不多 I don't think that's the right grammar
炸鱼薯条德里克
<usage><meaning-in-context><word><comparison>
Does 差不多 (chàbùduō) imply "slightly less than" when comparing quantities?
# Does 差不多 (chàbùduō) imply "slightly less than" when comparing quantities?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-04)

[差](http://youdao.com/w/eng/%E5%B7%AE) implies a kind of deficiency, so I expect

> A比B差不多

to mean A is slightly "worse" than B in some way. For example, I would expect

> 我比你差不多高

to imply I am slightly shorter than you. I'm not sure if this is correct, as [差不多](http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B7%AE%E4%B8%8D%E5%A4%9A) is also used to mean "about".

**Question**: Does 差不多 imply "slightly less than" when comparing quantities?

I could imagine a conversation along these lines (I made this up):

> A：你说那本书是50块，可是就是52块，你说错了。  
> B：哎哟，差不多吧。

where A is grumpy that the book was 52 yuan, when B previously told A that it was 50 yuan, but B says it's 差不多 (much the same). In this context, it seems like 差不多 means "about" and not "almost". Here 52 is greater than 50, so this raises some doubt.

**Tags:** usage, meaning-in-context, word, comparison

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 差不多=相差不多=the difference is small. Note that it doesn't mean worse  
> **username_2**: pretty much the same I think that the accurate translation. A比B差不多 I don't think that's the right grammar  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-04. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

差 = 相差 (difference) ;差距 (gap)

不多 = not much

> 差不多 :
>
> (adj) not much difference/ not much gap between
>
> (adv): almost / about

Example of 差不多 as adjective:

味道差不多 (not much difference in taste) - *could be slightly better or slightly worse*

價格差不多 (not much difference in price) - *could be slightly higher or slightly lower*

Example of 差不多 as adverb:

差不多到了 means "we're almost there" (*not quite there yet, but close to*)

差不多死了 means "almost died" or "about to die" ( *not dead yet but will be soon*)

When A ask B how much is the book, and B said: "**差不多**50块", it mean "it **is almost** 50 yuan" (= not quite 50 yuan)

When A found out the actual price is 52 yuan, he has every right to accuse B of lying.

And B's excuse: "52块, 50块 **差不多**吧?" (52 yuan and 50 yuan is **not much a difference** right?) is using 差不多 in a different way.

> *Does 差不多 (chàbùduō) imply “slightly less than” when comparing quantities?*

When 差不多 is used as an adverb (is **almost**) + quantities, it dose imply “slightly less than”, But when 差不多 is used as an adjective (**not much difference**), then it only mean the objects are similar in some form of comparison.

> *A 比 B 差不多*

The correct form:

A 跟 B 差不多 = not much difference between A and B

A 比 B **差**不了多少 = Compare to B, A is not much **worse**

*A 比 B 差不多 is not grammatical*

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It seems writing A比B差不多 was a bit of an embarrassing mistake.  Oh well... I guess I'll make many more mistakes along this path.  
> **username_1**: @Becky李蓓 Also, 差（cha1）means difference, and 差（cha4）means worse.  
> **username_4**: @TooskyHierot Not always the  case. E.g.差(cha4)不多  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-10-04. Score: 1

The most common phrasing is A*和*B差不多. 差不多，as a whole, means ***not much difference***.

You can say 你的身高和我差不多 or 我们俩个差不多一样高.

If you want to use 比， you can say 和我比你还差得远，你和我比还差得远 etc.

It's worth to note 你比我差不多 doesn't work quite well because 差不多 is almost a set phrase to mean *not much difference*(which is different from what you expect it to mean).


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