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差

Mandarin · pinyin chā#

difference; discrepancy
(math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction)
(literary) a little; somewhat; slightly

Mandarin · pinyin chà#

different
wrong; mistaken
to fall short; to lack
not up to standard; inferior
Taiwan pr. chā

Mandarin · pinyin chāi#

to send (on an errand)
(archaic) person sent on such an errand
job; official post

Mandarin · pinyin cī#

used in 參差 cēn cī

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Characters in this entry

差: chà · chā · to differ; different, wrong; nearly, almost; an officer

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · cha1

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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1character link18same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 22 senses · 4 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caa1 · caai1 · ci1 · co1

Cantonese word readings for 差. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

to differ from; to be different; dissimilar; incongruous
wrong; incorrect; erroneous
inferior; poor; substandard
difference; discrepancy
mistake; wrongdoing
(mathematics) difference
to be short of; to fall short of
to owe
rather; barely; nearly; almost
11th tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "divergence" (𝌐)

character

to dispatch; to assign; to send on an errand
to select; to choose
(historical) runner; courier; envoy; messenger
(historical) corvée
errand; task
(Cantonese) police

character

uneven; irregular; rough
to distinguish; to grade; to classify
grade; rank
limit; boundary

character

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) original form of 搓 (cuō, “to rub with one's hands; to scrub; to twist”)

character

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) original form of 瘥 (chài, “to recover from an illness”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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