Synonym of "Almost" in Chinese

Table of Contents

Grammar Point:
Both 差不多 chābùduōchàbuduō and 幾几乎 jīhū can mean “almost” or “nearly” in English, but they are used differently in Chinese depending on context and sentence structure. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:

Differences

Feature	幾几乎 jīhū	差不多 chābùduōchàbuduō
Meaning	Almost, nearly	Almost, roughly, about
Sentence position	Usually comes before a verb or verb phrase	Can be an adverb, adjective, or used alone
Can follow with numbers?	✘ No	✔ Yes
Can follow with 1-syllable adjectives?	✘ No	✔ Yes
Can be used as an adjective?	✘ No	✔ Yes
Can be a stand-alone reply?	✘ No	✔ Yes (“差不多!” = “Pretty much!”)
Use to describe things that almost happened but didn’t?	✔ Yes	✘ No
Tone	Slightly more formal	More casual and spoken

差不多 chābùduōchàbuduō

When used as an adverb, 差不多 chābùduōchàbuduō can be placed directly before a one-syllable adjective. It can also be used with numbers, and sometimes it works as an adjective itself.

她tā的de身高shēngāo差不多chābùduō跟gēn我wǒ一樣yíyàng她tā的de身高shēngāo差不多chàbuduō跟gēn我wǒ一样yíyàng
Her height is almost the same as mine

我們wǒmen差不多chābùduō高gāo我们wǒmen差不多chàbuduō高gāo
We are almost the same height.

她tā差不多chābùduō170 公分gōngfēn她tā差不多chàbuduō170 公分gōngfēn
She’s approximately 170 centimeters tall.

我wǒ每天měitiān差不多chābùduō七qī點diǎn起床qǐcháig我wǒ每天měitiān差不多chàbuduō七qī点diǎn起床qǐcháig
I get up at around 7 o’clock every day.

他們tāmen2 個ge人rén的de身高shēngāo差不多chābùduō他们tāmen2 个ge人rén的de身高shēngāo差不多chàbuduō
Their heights are almost the same.

你nǐ準備zhǔnbèi好hǎo了le嗎ma？—— 差不多chābùduō了le你nǐ准备zhǔnbèi好hǎo了le吗ma？—— 差不多chàbuduō了le
Are you ready? — Almost. / Pretty much.

幾几乎 jīhū

幾几乎 jīhū is used to mean “almost” or “nearly.” It usually comes before a verb, verb phrase, or longer adjective phrases, not single-syllable adjectives. It cannot be used with numbers, and it can’t be used as an adjective by itself. Also, 幾几乎 jīhū is often used to describe something that almost happened (especially something bad), but in the end, didn’t actually happen.

她tā的de身高shēngāo幾乎jīhū跟gēn我wǒ一樣yíyàng她tā的de身高shēngāo几乎jīhū跟gēn我wǒ一样yíyàng
Her height is almost the same as mine.

我wǒ幾乎jīhū每天měitiān都dōu喝hē咖啡kāfēi我wǒ几乎jīhū每天měitiān都dōu喝hē咖啡kāfēi
I almost drink coffee every day.

我們wǒmen幾乎jīhū一樣yíyàng高gāo我们wǒmen几乎jīhū一样yíyàng高gāo
We are almost the same height.

她tā幾乎jīhū遲到chídào了le她tā几乎jīhū迟到chídào了le
She almost arrived late.

我wǒ幾乎jīhū忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu約會yuēhuì我wǒ几乎jīhū忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu约会yuēhuì
I almost forgot that I have an appointment today.

62 分fēn？你nǐ幾乎jīhū要yào被bèi當dàng了le！ 62 分fēn？你nǐ几乎jīhū要yào被bèi当dàng了le！
62 points? You’re almost going to fail!

Common Mistakes

我們wǒmen幾乎jīhū高gāo我们wǒmen几乎jīhū高gāo ❌
We are almost the same height.
(幾几乎 jīhū do not go straight to adjectives)

我wǒ每天měitiān幾乎jīhū七qī點diǎn起床qǐcháig我wǒ每天měitiān几乎jīhū七qī点diǎn起床qǐcháig ❌
I get up at around 7 o’clock every day.
(幾几乎 jīhū cannot be used with numbers)

他們tāmen2 個ge人rén的de身高shēngāo幾乎jīhū他们tāmen2 个ge人rén的de身高shēngāo几乎jīhū ❌
Their heights are almost the same.
(幾几乎 jīhū can’t be used as an adjective by itself)

我wǒ差不多chābùduō忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu約會yuēhuì我wǒ差不多chàbuduō忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu约会yuēhuì ❌
I almost forgot that I have an appointment today.
(差不多 chābùduōchàbuduō did not use to describe something that almost happened, but in the end, didn’t actually happen.)

Do you like it? 🙂