差
Meaning
- different
- wrong; mistaken
- to fall short; to lack
Example sentence
我来出差。
I came on business.
The character 差
差 is a falling short, and the reading follows the job: chà for lacking — 差不多, nearly, 差一点儿, very nearly — and chā for the gap itself in 差别, a difference. A third reading, chāi, is an errand, as in 出差.