TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
差
ㄔㄚ · chā/chà/chāi/cī
noun/verb/adj — difference; (chà) lacking, poor; (chāi) to dispatch; (cī) uneven
字源 FORM — what the parts do
來形a worn top — grain or hanging strands, now a 龶-like blockthe upper part flattened in copying; not readable as itself
The two halves fail to line up. From things not matching: a difference, 差別, 差距; a count that falls short, 差一點; falling short in quality, 差勁; the uneven, 參差; and being sent off on an errand, 出差.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
上下兩塊本該對齊，偏偏錯開了一道——差。
The upper and lower halves should meet square, but slip out of line by a margin — the difference.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
chā
(本義)差別、差距— difference, gap常用
→誤差、差錯— error, discrepancy
chà
→差不多、差一點— nearly; to fall short常用
⇒差勁、成績差— poor, inferior常用
chāi
→出差、差遣— to dispatch, be sent on duty常用
cī
→參差不齊— uneven, ragged
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
着zhethe lookalike sharing the 羊-like top — 着 carries an eye 目 below, 差 a tool 左＝ 𠂇 ＋ zuǒthe left-hand root — 差 holds 左's hand-and-tool, then slips it out of true