DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

差不離

简差不离 · 繁差不離

Mandarin · pinyin chà bù lí

not much different
similar
ordinary
nearly

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

差: chà · chā · to differ; different, wrong; nearly, almost; an officer
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
離: Look up this written character
离: lí · rare beast; strange; elegant

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–2 · cha4 bu4 li2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

差不離 · find source passages ↗ · 差不离 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

caa1 bat1 lei4

Cantonese word readings for 差不離. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

adj

about the same; similar
just about right; just about enough; not far off; not bad

adv

almost; nearly

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack