HSK 4
Correct

几乎 vs 差不多

/ jīhū vs chàbùduō /
Strokes
https://i.cchatty2.com/filters:format(webp)/fit-in/684x0/img/202006/几乎vs差不多-Chinese-grammar-Cchatty-d249be81-80d1-45ec-aa34-c4e35f4628ca-1592379071.jpg

Definition

几乎 and 差不多 are both Adverbs of Scope (范围副词):

 

1, 几乎 indicates close to a certain amount or degree,

 

2, 差不多 also indicates close to a certain amount or degree, but it is only used to make an objective statement about a fact.

 

几乎 HSK 3

 

差不多 HSK 4

Example

几乎 indicates close to a certain amount or degree.
The speaker thinks the amount is large or the degree is high.
1
tài
è
饿
le
  
,
几乎
chī
le
wǎn
fàn
  

He was too hungry, he almost has eaten five bowls of rice.

2
几乎
suǒyǒu
所有
rén
dōu
huan
喜欢
zhè
běn
shū
  

Almost nobody like this book.

3
Zuìjìn
最近
几乎
tiāntiān
天天
dōu
xià
下雨
  

Recently, It's been raining almost every day.

差不多 also indicates close to a quantity or degree.
But it is only used to make an objective statement about a fact.
4
chàbuduō
差不多
chī
le
wǎn
fàn
  
  
(
shuōhuà
说话
rén
zhǐshì
只是
zài
shuō
chī
le
wǎn
fàn
  
,
méiyǒu
没有
juéde
觉得
duō
huòzhě
或者
shǎo
  
  
)

He has almost eaten five bowls of rice. (The speaker is just making a statement about the fact without making any comment.)

5
chàbuduō
差不多
děng
le
liǎng
xiǎoshí
小时
  
  
(
shuōhuà
说话
rén
zhǐshì
只是
zài
shuōmíng
说明
qíngkuàng
情况
  
,
méiyǒu
没有
juéde
觉得
shíjiān
时间
cháng
huòzhě
或者
duǎn
  
  
)

I have almost waited you for two hours. (The speaker is just making a statement about the fact without making any comment.)

Only 差不多 is used when indicating a small amount, a low degree or a short time.
6
men
我们
chàbuduō
差不多
xiūxi
休息
le
10
10
fēnzhōng
分钟
  

We have almost rested 10 minutes.

7
Zhè
běn
shū
chàbuduō
差不多
cái
kàn
le
5
5
xié
  

I read this book almost 5 pages.

"差不多 + Verb/Adjective" is used to make an objective statement.
8
mǎi
le
10
10
  
,
chàbuduō
差不多
gòu
le
  

I bought ten, it's nearly enough.

9
A
A
  
:
shū
kàn
wán
le
ma
  
?
B
B
  
:
chàbuduō
差不多
kàn
wán
le
  

A: Have you finished this book ?B: Almost.

几乎 places special emphasis on being close to a degree.
10
Tīngdào
听到
zhège
这个
xiāoxi
消息
  
,
gāoxìng
高兴
de
几乎
tiào
le
lai
起来
  

She almost jumped up when she heard the news.

11
Zhège
这个
diànyǐng
电影
méisi
没意思
  
,
kàn
zhāo
kàn
zhāo
  
,
几乎
yào
shuìzhāo
睡着
le
  

This movie is not interesting, I was almost asleep when I watched it.

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with 几乎 or 差不多:

 

1. 我们说好三点见,他( )两点四十五就到了。

2. 见到10年没见的同学,他们激动得( )要哭了。

3. 全班有50个人,但是( )只有5个人参加了比赛。

4. 当他知道自己考上北京大学的时候,高兴得( )跳了起来。

5. 电影( )结束了。

6. 为了减肥,她( )试过所有的办法。

7. A:作业两个小时能做完吗?  B:( )。

8. 放假了,同学们( )都回家了。