The character 差 — “lack”: how to write it and what it means
lack; poor
The Chinese character 差 is read chà and means “lack; poor”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 差
差 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 差, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 差 is made of
差不多 is “lacking a little”, that is, “almost”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 差
- 差不多almost; about the sameHSK 3
- 出差go on a business tripHSK 4
- 差点儿almost, nearlyHSK 4
- 差距gap, disparityHSK 5
- 时差time differenceHSK 5
- 差别differenceHSK 5
- 相差differ (by)HSK 6
- 差异difference, discrepancyHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 差?
差 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 差 mean?
差 means “lack; poor”. It appears in 差不多 (“almost”), 出差 (“go on a business trip”), 差点儿 (“almost”), 差距 (“gap”).
How do you pronounce 差?
差 is read chà. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 差 have?
9 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 差 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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