差不多
chàbuduō
Meaning
差不多 has two common uses: 1. Adjective — “similar”, “almost the same”. 2. Adverb — “almost”, “nearly”, “approximately”.
1. 差不多 as an adjective
As an adjective, 差不多 means two or more things are very similar, with little difference between them.
这两个电子词典看上去差不多，左边这个怎么这么贵？
These two electronic dictionaries look almost the same — why is the one on the left so expensive?
他们俩是在国外旅游的时候认识的，性格差不多，所以很快就成了好朋友。
They met while travelling abroad. Their personalities were similar, so they quickly became good friends.
2. 差不多 as an adverb
As an adverb, 差不多 means “almost”, “nearly” or “approximately” — a quantity, time, distance or degree close to, but not exactly, a value.
班里同学你联系得怎么样了？来多少人？
Have you contacted the classmates? How many are coming?
差不多一半儿吧。
About half.
女儿上中学后，个子长得特别快，现在都快一米七了，差不多跟我一样高了。
After my daughter started middle school she grew very fast. She's nearly 1.7 metres now — almost as tall as me.
差不多 vs. 正好
差不多二十块。
About ¥20.
正好二十块。
Exactly ¥20.
Quick rule
差不多 + noun / adjective → similar, almost the same
性格差不多。
Their personalities are similar.
差不多 + number / quantity → approximately, nearly
差不多一半。
About half.
差不多 ≠ 正好
差不多 = approximately
正好 = exactly