差
poor; bad; to lack; short of
chà
What does 差 mean?
差 (chà) at HSK 3 is the adjective / verb meaning 'poor in quality / bad' and 'to lack / be short of.' As an adjective: 他的中文很差 (his Chinese is poor), 这家饭店服务很差 (this restaurant's service is bad). As a verb of lacking: 我们还差一个人 (we're still one person short), 差五分钟到八点 (it's five minutes to eight).
The character has multiple readings — chā (difference), chāi (to send / errand), cī (uneven) — but at HSK 3 the chà reading is by far the most common. Two differences from English: first, 差 as 'bad' is specifically about quality / standard not meeting expectations, gentler than English 'terrible' but stronger than 'so-so' (那个 一般 yìbān is 'so-so'); second, the time-telling use 差 X 分 means 'X minutes TO the hour,' literally 'short by X minutes' — 差十分八点 = 'ten to eight.'
Character breakdown
poor; lacking; differ
Memory hook: 差 contains 工 (work) inside — think of work that falls short of standard, hence 'poor / lacking.'
Example sentences
今天天气很差。
Jīntiān tiānqì hěn chà.
The weather is really bad today.
spoken
我们还差一个人。
Wǒmen hái chà yí ge rén.
We're still one person short.
spoken
现在差五分八点。
Xiànzài chà wǔ fēn bā diǎn.
It's five minutes to eight right now.
neutral
他的发音不错，但语法还差一点。
Tā de fāyīn búcuò, dàn yǔfǎ hái chà yìdiǎn.
His pronunciation is good, but his grammar is still a bit lacking.
neutral
Common phrases with 差
Synonyms
不好 ('not good') is a milder, more general negative. 差 specifically points to quality falling short of a standard. 这个不好 (this isn't good) is softer; 这个很差 (this is bad / poor) is harsher.
糟糕 means 'terrible / awful,' often used as an exclamation: 糟糕，我忘了 (oh no, I forgot). 差 is descriptive of quality; 糟糕 is more emotional and situational.
Don't confuse 差 with
Same character, different reading: chā means 'difference' as a noun — 时差 (time difference), 差别 (distinction). chà (HSK 3) is the adjective 'poor' or verb 'to lack.' Context tells you the reading.
出差 ('go on a business trip') uses the chāi reading. Same character but yet another pronunciation. The HSK 3 use is chà, but if you see 出差 read it chāi.
查 (chá) means 'to check / look up' — 查字典 (look up in a dictionary)