Questions tagged [difference]
For questions about differences or comparisons between two or more words, lexical nuances, characters, pronunciation, syntax, etc.
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What’s the difference between 费解 vs 难懂?
What’s the difference between 费解 vs 难懂? I know they both mean “hard to understand” but can they be used interchangeably? When should you use one over the other and why?
Are these sentences right?
...
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What is the difference between 讯息 and 消息 and 信息?
I'd like to know what is the most common word for a "message", like a SMS or just a message you receive on internet
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What is the difference between 折磨 and 煎熬?
the meaning are almost the same，but
她折磨我✔
她煎熬我✘
我的内心很折磨✘
我的内心很煎熬✔
我被受中文折磨✅ 煎熬✅
中文让我感到十分煎熬✅ 十分折磨❓ is a bit strange
为什么会这样？
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Difference between 一点也不and 一点都不
Is there any rule in the phrase "一点也/都不..." when you should use 都 instead of 也 or can you simply use them interchangeably?
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整日 Vs 整天 Is there any difference?
Is there any difference between 整日 and 整天
整日 : whole day refers to only day ?
整天 : whole day refers to day & night?
Dictionary Meaning:
整日 zhěngrì all day along, whole day
整天 zhěngtiān whole day
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What is the difference between 弯身, 弯腰, 俯身, and 屈身?
Are the following four statements correct? Is one of them better?
1屈身行礼
2弯腰行礼
3弯身行礼
4俯身行礼
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What is the difference between 山顶and 山巅?
What is the difference between these two words? Is there any difference? Are they used in different regions?
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Difference between 整理 and 收拾?
What would be some examples of things you would 整理 and things you would 收拾 ？
Are they completely interchangeable or is there some nuanced difference ?
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How are 连A带B and A着B different
他连说带笑 / 他笑着说
他连唱带跳 / 他唱着跳
Do these sentences have the same meaning？
and if I change the position between the two verbs, do they still have the same meaning?
他连说带笑 / 他连笑带说
他笑着说 / 他说着笑
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What's the difference between 行为 and 现象?
从（软件运行的）现象上来看，这个问题不影响软件的正常使用。
According to the dictionary, 现象 is phenomenon. I think it should be behavior, but behavior means 行为.
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Hi! What is the difference between 忙得过来 and 忙不过来
Are they opposite, or do they mean the same thing?
My teacher gave me an example like...
A: “工作这么多，你忙得过来吗？”
B: “我可能忙不过来.”
but I am still having trouble understanding this.
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How can I say someone is doing their work in a half-assed manner?
The adjective half-assed means to finish something but often without regards to it being perfect.
I don’t think 半途而废 means this as it literally means go half-way and give up (and not finish).
I ...
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difference between 伴 and 配
I am reading a restaurant menu in Chinese and found the usage of 伴 and 配 perplexing. What is the rule? (Or is there?)
For example: 咖喱燒雞配印度薄餅及印度飯 and 蘋果批伴雲呢拿汁
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Attack them when they are unready, take them by surprise ： 这个成语有多少方法可以说？
Could you please let me know which of these sound right and why the other ones sound wrong? I'm not sure about the difference between 不 and 无.
出其不意，攻其不备
攻其不备，出其不意
攻其无备，出其无意
攻其不备，出其无意
攻其无备，出其不意
都可以用吗
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Differences: 信息 vs 讯息?
What are the differences between:
信息 vs 讯息?
Perhaps 信 is more related to the mailing?
Perhaps 讯 is more related to the information?
Perhaps 息 is related to the breathing?
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Difference between 他带来了很多衣服 and 他带很多衣服来
大家好！
I don't really understand the difference between two sentences:
1.他带来了很多衣服;
2. 他带很多衣服来;
The 1st one was found on the Internet, but the 2nd one I have "created" by myself. Is the 2nd one ...
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How do we reconcile the different definitions for 弊端 in the HSK Standard Course 6上 ("disadvantage" etc.) and CC-CEDICT ("malpractice" etc.)?
The HSK Standard Course 6上 textbook (p.45) definition for 弊端 is inconsistent with the definition from CC-CEDICT:
HSK6上: n. disadvantage, drawback
CC-CEDICT: malpractice / abuse / corrupt practice
...
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What is the difference between 神河and 河神
河神 to 神河 difference
神河文明
Tientsin Mystic (河神)
Is there any difference in the use 河神 to 神河?
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多大 or 多少？Which should be used when and where?
多大 or 多少？
Could these two terms be used interchangeably, and if not what is the difference between them? When should they be used?
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What is the difference between 矮 and 短
What is the difference between 矮 and 短. Both seem to mean "short," so how can they be differentiated?
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What is the difference between 没 and 不 when used with 又?
What's the difference between these sentences:
他又没来上课
他又不来上课()
Here: https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22again%22_in_the_past_with_%22you%22#Negative_Form
it says both 没 ...
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What is so problematic about the homophones 预订 and 预定 when negotiating contracts?
I was talking to one of the staff members at LTL Mandarin, and she mentioned that when negotiating contracts (e.g. when moving house) there is an important difference between the following homophones:
...
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Differences between 推荐 and 建议
Formal definitions are not of great help. Studying HSK it is clear that 推荐 is the one use in any context where one recommends places to go/eat/do activities.
I could find here that 建议 is more about ...
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What's the difference between 特色 and 特点? [duplicate]
What's the difference between 特色 and 特点? When should I use 特色 and when 特点? Please give me some examples. Thank you!
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Dragonfly translation
If you were using ‘dragonfly’ in a Mandarin brandname (traditional products for hair & skin), would you use 蜻蜓 or only 蜻?
In general, shorter 2-syllable brand names are better and apparently 蜻 can ...
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For a student studying Chinese as a second language, is there any practical difference between the radicals 匚 and 匸?
At the LTL Mandarin office in Beijing, there is a poster of the Chinese radicals, in which we find the 匚 and 匸 radicals:
Until seeing this poster, I didn't realize these were different. This leads ...
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Difference between 这个 and 本
There are two words in Chinese that are both translated as “This” in English (这个 and 本). What is the difference between them and how to use them correctly ?
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What’s the difference between 二五 and 二十五?
Can I just say 二五 when I’m talking or counting instead of 二十五? Will it make a difference between the two of them? Or is it because 二五 is like everyday speech (informal) and 二十五 (formal) for writing?
I ...
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手臂 vs 胳膊 difference
I know that both words mean "arm", but is there any real difference between 手臂 and 胳膊? When I started to learn Mandarin at university, they taught me to use 手臂, but now I see that 胳膊 is the ...
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Difference among these terms for student clubs: 队、团、俱乐部、社和兴趣小组?
In regards to their meanings as "student clubs" (at school), are there any differences in the following words: 队、团、俱乐部、社和兴趣小组？
For me, I personally find 队 to mean clubs having to do with ...
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What's the difference between 让, 令 and 使?
I am in doubt whether 让, 令 and 使 are interchangeable, and if not, how to differentiate their use.
What I understood so far:
让 tends to be used in spoken language and it's pretty universal, meaning to ...
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分别 vs 分别地 what is the difference?
Fairly straightforward. I know -地 is used to turn adjectives into adverbs and that justifies the use of 分别地 (the internet attributes it the meanings "separately" and/or "respectively&...
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What's the difference between 一下子，一刹那，and 一时
I know the usage of 一下子 but I don't really understand about 一刹那 and 一时
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What is the difference between 变 (biàn) and 易 (yì)?
I would say that both 变 (biàn) and 易 (yì) have the same (or very similar) meaning, dealing with "something that changes", like in "易经" (the Book of changes) or "变温层" (...
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The difference between 蓄着 vs 在蓄?
That is the difference between:
蓄着胡子
and
在蓄胡子
As far as I understand it's:
在蓄胡子 -- to grow a beard.
蓄着胡子 -- to wear a beard.
Am I right?
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Result complements used with 买: 好，到 and 上
I have come across three different result complements that can be associated with the verb 买: 好，到 and 上.
My broad understanding is that all three of them somewhat convey the idea of "managing to ...
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How does 脖 differ from 頸 for "neck"?
https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/1547907 doesn't answer this. I don't think https://hinative.com/zh-CN/questions/51384 is relevant?
user11787
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What is the difference between 还是 and 还?
What is the difference between 还是 and 还? Is 还 the short of 还是 and, consequently, they are interchangeable in every situation, only in some cases or never?
For reference, I will list the different ...
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Are (报道, 报导), (成份, 成分), (定单, 订单), (定婚, 订婚), (浑浊, 混浊), (摩擦, 磨擦), (启程, 起程), (人才, 人材) all pairs of alternative ways of writing words?
In the book 汉语国际教育用词语声调组合及轻重音格式实用手册 by 刘英林 [ed.] (considered the likely candidate for the upcoming HSK3.0 vocabulary), the following words seem to be categorized as alternatives:
报道 and 报导
There are ...
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What is the difference between 星期日 and 周日? [duplicate]
I know the definition of both of these words are Sunday but in what context are they used?
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What is the difference between 晚上 and 夜里?
when I was looking the definition of both of these words. It showed that they both meant night. Does both of these words mean night?
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Differences between "Verb + Adj", "Adj + Verb", "Verb + 得 + Adj" and "Adj + 地 + Verb"?
I am having some difficulties understanding the differences in meaning between the following structures (the examples are from Line dictionary):
Verb + Adj
e.g:
走快了她会累。
Zŏu kuài le tā huì lĕi.
...
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Difference between using 被 and the object in the topic position?
I just learned about the preposition 被 bèi to express passive voice. If we have a S-V-O sentence, we can reexpress it using the 被 structure as O-被-(S)-V. This introduces a passive voice into the ...
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Difference between 洞 and 口 for holes in things
From what I see, there are examples where both 洞 and 口 can be used to describe holes in things. For example from samples in Pleco:
衣服撕了个口 (A hole was torn in the jacket)
衬衫破了一个洞 (Have a hole in one's ...
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Why is 称 used instead of 显示 in 消息称，苹果已经开始……?
From a news article 中国市场不能丢！苹果在华销量暴增225%，iPhone12或支持北斗导航 (10 August 2020), we typically see 显示 meaning "indicate":
有统计数据显示，……
……，苹果中国官网介绍显示，……
7月底苹果公布的第三财季的财报显示，……
In fact, I've become ...
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Differences between 记得 and 记住
Google obviously doesn't help, both recorded as remember / recall except 记得 as bring to mind and 记住 as bear in mind.
Found a blog post that is confusing with some claiming 记得 is more about having done ...
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What's the difference between 开 and 举办 when used for the meaning "to hold an event"?
What is the difference between 开 and 举办 in the following sentence?
They both mean "to hold". Can you use both for big events like 奥运会 or little events like 派对 or 聚会 ?
每年开两次运动会，一次是水上运动会，...
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Do 饶舌 and 说唱 mean the same thing in Chinese?
Google translate gives "Rap" for "饶舌" and "说唱" for "Rap"
Do 饶舌 and 说唱 mean the same thing in Chinese?
Is it about spoken vs. written?
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What's the difference between 检测 and 检查?
Google translate gives "discover" and "detect" for "检测" as well as "examination" and "checking" for "检查".
When talking about COVID-19, ...
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When to use 很 vs 非常？
What is the difference between using 很 and 非常？
For example:
猫和狗都非常可爱 and 猫和狗都很可爱。Is there any difference? Which one should I use with 漂亮？
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