Synonym of “Almost” in Chinese

Posted on by tiffany

差不多 · 幾乎 · 左右 · 大概 — 近義詞辨析
similar words

差不多 chàbuduō · 几乎 jīhū · 左右 zuǒyòu · 大概 dàgài

Four ways to say “almost” or “about” in Mandarin — and how each one handles numbers, adjectives, and probability differently.

English uses “almost” and “about” loosely, but Mandarin splits this idea across four words with different rules: 差不多 chàbuduō for flexible, everyday approximation, 几乎 jīhū for something that almost happened but didn’t, 左右 zuǒyòu for an approximate quantity placed after a number, and 大概 dàgài for a probability or estimate.

一

差不多 chàbuduō

Flexible · Adverb / Adjective

差不多 chàbuduō is the most flexible of the four. It can sit directly before a one-syllable adjective, pair with numbers, or even stand alone as a reply.

Subject + 差不多chàbuduō + Adjective / Number / Verb Phrase
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.
我们wǒmen差不多chàbuduō高gāo。
We are almost the same height.
她tā差不多chàbuduō170yìbǎi qīshí公分gōngfēn。
She’s approximately 170 centimeters tall.
我wǒ每天měitiān差不多chàbuduō七点qī diǎn起床qǐchuáng。
I get up at around 7 o’clock every day.
他们tāmen2liǎng个gè人rén的de身高shēngāo差不多chàbuduō。
Their heights are almost the same.
你nǐ准备zhǔnbèi好hǎo了le吗ma？——差不多chàbuduō了le。
Are you ready? — Almost. / Pretty much.
二

几乎 jīhū

Adverb · Before Verb / Verb Phrase

几乎 jīhū usually comes before a verb, verb phrase, or longer adjective phrase — not a single-syllable adjective. It cannot be used with numbers or stand alone as an adjective. It’s often used for something that almost happened (especially something bad) but in the end didn’t.

Subject + 几乎jīhū + Verb Phrase
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几乎jīhū每天měitiān都dōu喝hē咖啡kāfēi。
I almost drink coffee every day.
我们wǒmen几乎jīhū一样yíyàng高gāo。
We are almost the same height.
她tā几乎jīhū迟到chídào了le。
She almost arrived late.
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？你nǐ几乎jīhū要yào被bèi当dàng了le！
62 points? You’re almost going to fail!
三

左右 zuǒyòu

Postposition · After Number / Quantity

左右 zuǒyòu means “around” or “approximately,” but unlike the other three words, it always comes after the number or quantity it modifies — a time, a price, a duration, or an amount.

Number / Quantity + 左右zuǒyòu
他tā每天měitiān运动yùndòng半bàn小时xiǎoshí左右zuǒyòu。
He exercises for about half an hour every day.
这件zhè jiàn外套wàitào要yào三千sānqiān块kuài左右zuǒyòu。
This jacket costs around NT$3000.
我们wǒmen五点wǔ diǎn左右zuǒyòu出发chūfā。
We’ll leave at around 5 o’clock.
这部zhè bù电影diànyǐng两个liǎng gè小时xiǎoshí左右zuǒyòu。
This movie is about two hours long.
四

大概 dàgài

Adverb · Estimation / Probability

大概 dàgài expresses the speaker’s own estimate, guess, or sense of probability — about a quantity, a future event, or how likely something is to happen.

Subject + 大概dàgài + Verb Phrase
他tā大概dàgài明天míngtiān会huì到dào。
He’ll probably arrive tomorrow.
这场zhè chǎng比赛bǐsài大概dàgài没有méiyǒu希望xīwàng赢yíng了le。
This game probably has no hope of winning.
我wǒ大概dàgài知道zhīdào问题wèntí在zài哪里nǎlǐ。
I roughly know where the problem is.
大概dàgài要yào花huā两个liǎng gè小时xiǎoshí才cái能néng做完zuòwán。
It’ll probably take about two hours to finish.
05  ·  Watch Out

Common Pitfalls

几乎 jīhū — cannot go directly before a single-syllable adjective
✕我们wǒmen几乎jīhū高gāo
✓我们wǒmen几乎jīhū一样yíyàng高gāo

几乎 jīhū cannot attach straight to a one-syllable adjective like 高. Add 一樣 first, or switch to 差不多, which can go directly before it.

几乎 jīhū — cannot be used with numbers
✕我wǒ每天měitiān几乎jīhū七点qī diǎn起床qǐchuáng
✓我wǒ每天měitiān差不多chàbuduō七点qī diǎn起床qǐchuáng

几乎 jīhū cannot be paired with a number. Use 差不多 chàbuduō instead.

几乎 jīhū — cannot stand alone as an adjective
✕他们tāmen2liǎng个gè人rén的de身高shēngāo几乎jīhū
✓他们tāmen2liǎng个gè人rén的de身高shēngāo差不多chàbuduō

几乎 jīhū can’t be used by itself as an adjective at the end of a sentence. 差不多 chàbuduō can.

差不多 chàbuduō — cannot describe a near-miss that didn’t happen
✕我wǒ差不多chàbuduō忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu约会yuēhuì
✓我wǒ几乎jīhū忘了wàngle今天jīntiān有yǒu约会yuēhuì

差不多 chàbuduō isn’t used for something that almost happened (but didn’t). Use 几乎 jīhū for that meaning.

左右 zuǒyòu — must follow the number, never precede it
✕左右zuǒyòu我们wǒmen五点wǔ diǎn出发chūfā
✓我们wǒmen五点wǔ diǎn左右zuǒyòu出发chūfā

左右 zuǒyòu always comes right after the number or quantity it modifies, never before it.

06  ·  At a Glance

Quick Comparison

几乎jīhū 差不多chàbuduō 左右zuǒyòu 大概dàgài
Meaning Almost, nearly Almost, roughly, about Around (a quantity) Probably, approximately
Position Before a verb / verb phrase Adverb, adjective, or alone After a number / quantity Before a verb phrase
With numbers? ✕ No ✔ Yes ✔ Yes (required) ✔ Yes
With 1-syllable adjectives? ✕ No ✔ Yes ✕ No ✕ Not typical
Used as adjective? ✕ No ✔ Yes ✕ No ✕ No
Stand-alone reply? ✕ No ✔ Yes (“差不多!”) ✕ No “大概吧” = maybe
Describes a near-miss? ✔ Yes ✕ No ✕ No ✕ No
Tone Slightly more formal Casual, spoken Neutral, precise-sounding Neutral, conversational
07  ·  Practice

Practice Quiz

PRACTICE QUIZ Question 1 of 10
We’ll leave at around 5 o’clock.
我们wǒmen五点wǔ diǎn____出发chūfā。
She almost arrived late (but didn’t).
她tā____迟到chídào了le。
Are you ready? — Pretty much!
你準備好了嗎？——____了le！
He’ll probably arrive tomorrow.
他tā____明天míngtiān会huì到dào。
I get up at around 7 o’clock every day.
我wǒ每天měitiān____七点qī diǎn起床qǐchuáng。
This jacket costs around NT$3000.
这件zhè jiàn外套wàitào要yào三千sānqiān块kuài____。
62 points? You’re almost going to fail!
62分？你nǐ____要yào被bèi当dàng了le！
We are almost the same height.
我们wǒmen____高gāo。
This game probably has no hope of winning.
这场zhè chǎng比赛bǐsài____没有méiyǒu希望xīwàng赢yíng了le。
This movie is about two hours long.
这部zhè bù电影diànyǐng两个liǎng gè小时xiǎoshí____。
Complete
0 / 10

questions answered correctly

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