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Chinese/Dictionary entry

差强人意

chā qiáng rén yìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) just passable / barely satisfactory
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1586372b152e8c2d. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

差強人意 差强人意 [cha1 qiang2 ren2 yi4] /(idiom) just passable/barely satisfactory/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 差強人意

  • 差
    chā

    difference / discrepancy / (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction) / (literary) a little / somewhat / slightly

    chà

    different / wrong / mistaken / to fall short / to lack / not up to standard / inferior / Taiwan pr. [chā]

    chāi

    to send (on an errand) / (archaic) person sent on such an errand / job / official post

    cī

    used in 參差|参差[cēn cī]

  • 强
    jiàng

    stubborn / unyielding

    qiáng

    strong / powerful / better / slightly more than / vigorous / violent / best in their category, e.g. see 百強|百强[bǎi qiáng]

    qiǎng

    to force / to compel / to strive / to make an effort

    Qiáng

    surname Qiang

  • 人
  • 意
    yì

    (bound form) idea / thought / meaning / sense / (bound form) intention / feeling / inclination / state of mind / (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yì dà lì])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.