差 (chà) means "to differ, differ from, to lack" with HSK 3 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: to differ
Other meanings:
- differ from
- to lack
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
差 is not attested in the oracle-bone corpus and appears to be a later formation. The seal-script form is analysed as a phono-semantic compound with 左 (hand, giving the sense of reaching or sorting by hand) combined with an element derived from 來 (wheat), whose shape sits on top and also supplied the pronunciation. The original idea seems to be of hands sorting or selecting grain, from which the sense of 'to differ' or 'to choose between' developed.
Form evolution
Seal script shows the wheat-like element clearly on top of a 左-shaped base. Clerical script fused the upper element into a 羊-looking stack of horizontals with a slanting stroke, which is the source of the modern top component. Modern 楷 書 regularised this into the familiar three-horizontal-plus-slant top sitting over 工, with a ノ stroke running through on the left.
How the meaning evolved
From the early sense of 'sort, select, differ' the character branched in several directions. The reading chā gave the noun sense of a gap or difference and the mathematical sense of a remainder in subtraction. The reading chà yielded 'to fall short, be inferior'. The reading chāi developed the sense of dispatching someone on an errand, hence 出差 (business trip) and 差事 (assignment). All these readings coexist in modern Mandarin and must be learned together.
Cultural note
差 is one of the classic multi-reading headaches for learners: 差不多 (chàbuduō, 'about the same') and 差别 (chābié, 'difference') share a character but not a tone. A useful anchor is that chà tends to mean 'lacking' while chā tends to mean 'a measurable gap'.
Basic info
Example sentences
Words containing 差
On the new HSK 3 exam
Studying for HSK 3? Keep 差 with the rest of your level.
HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.