Chinese characters : List with all references

Character: 差

Modern (Beijing) reading: chā

Preclassic Old Chinese: shrāj

Classic Old Chinese: shrāj

Western Han Chinese: ṣhāj

Eastern Han Chinese: ṣhǟ

Early Postclassic Chinese: ṣhạ̄

Middle Postclassic Chinese: ṣhạ̄

Late Postclassic Chinese: ṣhạ̄

Middle Chinese: c̣hạ

English meaning : divergence, difference, distinction

Russian meaning[s]: 1) ошибаться; ошибка; 2) разница; различаться; [chà] недоставать; уступать, быть хуже; плохой; [chāi] 1) командировать, дать поручение; 2) поручение; 3) посланец; курьер; 4) заключенный, преступник; [cī] 1) беспорядочный; неровный; 2) разница; 3) порядок; ранг; [cuō] см. 蹉

Shuowen gloss: 貣也.左不相值也.從左傘.

Comments: The character is also read as MC c̣hạ̈j (FQ 楚皆), Mand. chāi 'to choose, select' - although this is most probably a MC dialectal variant of the same word ('choose' = 'make a disinction between').

Another reading of the character, also attested very early, is OC shraj, MC c̣he (FQ 楚宜), Pek. cī, Viet. si 'be graduated, of different length', normally in synonymous compounds: 參差 *shrǝm-shraj, 差池 *shraj-Łaj. Viet. also has a reading sái 'be dislocated; opposed' (pointing to an unattested MC variant c̣hạ̈̀ ?). A later attested reading is *chāj (*shāj), MC châ, mod. cuo 1 to rub = 磋 *chāj to file, polish q.v.

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Dialectal data: Dialectal data

Radical: 48

Four-angle index: 94

Karlgren code: 0005 f-g

Vietnamese reading: sai

Shijing occurrences: 1.2, 28.1

Number: 919

Chinese etymology: Chinese etymology

Character: 差

MC description : A: 假開二平麻初; B: 假開二去禡初; C: 止開三平支初; D: 蟹開二平佳初

ZIHUI: A: 1567 0063; B: 1567 0071; C: 1567 0415; D: 1567 1092

Beijing: A: c̣ha 11; B: c̣ha 3; C: chi_ 11; D: c̣hai 11

Jinan: A: c̣ha 3; B: c̣ha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: c̣hɛ 11

Xi'an: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chɛ 11

Taiyuan: A: cha 1; B: cha 1; C: chi_ 1; D: chai 1

Hankou: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chai 11

Chengdu: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chai 11

Yangzhou: A: cha 11; B: châ 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chɛ 11

Suzhou: A: cho 11; B: cho 11; C: chi_ 11; D: che_ 11 (lit.); cha_ 11

Wenzhou: A: cho 11; B: cho 11; C: chi_ 11; D: cha 11

Changsha: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chai 11

Shuangfeng: A: cho 11; B: cho 11; C: chi_ 12; D: cho 11

Nanchang: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: ; D: chai 11

Meixian: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi_ 11; D: chai 11

Guangzhou: A: čha 11; B: čha 11; C: čhi 11; D: čhāi 11

Xiamen: A: cha 11 (lit.); che 11; chuaʔ 41; B: cha 11 (lit.); che 11; chuaʔ 41; C: chu 11; D: chai 11

Chaozhou: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chi 11; D: che 11

Fuzhou: A: cha 11; B: cha 11; C: chɛ 11; D: chɛ 11

Shanghai: A: cho 1; B: cha 1 (lit.); cho 1; C: cha 1 (lit.); cho 1; D: cha 1

Zhongyuan yinyun: A: čha 1; B: čha 1; C: čhi_ 1; čhai 1

Chinese characters :

Sino-Tibetan etymology :

Chinese Dialects :