差 — different; wrong; mistaken
different; wrong; mistaken; to fall short; to lack
- Pinyin
- chà · chā · chāi · cī
- Strokes
- 9
- HSK level
- HSK 3
- Handwriting
- required
This character has more than one reading — chà, chā, chāi, cī — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 差: 9 strokes
Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.
Words with 差 in the HSK syllabus: 17
Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.
- 差chàdifferent; wrong; mistaken; to fall short; to lackHSK 3
- 差不多chàbuduōalmost; nearly; more or less; about the sameHSK 3
- 差点儿chàdiǎnr—HSK 4
- 出差chūchāito go on an official or business tripHSK 4
- 差别chābiédifference; distinction; disparityHSK 5
- 差距chājùdisparity; gapHSK 5
- 时差shíchātime difference; time lag; jet lagHSK 5
- 差异chāyìdifference; discrepancyHSK 6
- 相差xiāngchàto differHSK 6
- 差错chācuòmistake; slip-up; fault; error; accident; mishapHSK 7–9
- 差额chā’ébalance; discrepancy; differenceHSK 7–9
- 反差fǎnchācontrast; discrepancyHSK 7–9
- 落差luòchādrop in elevation; gap; disparityHSK 7–9
- 偏差piānchābias; deviationHSK 7–9
- 顺差shùnchāsurplusHSK 7–9
- 温差wēnchàdifference in temperatureHSK 7–9
- 误差wùchādifference; error; inaccuracyHSK 7–9
Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.