The Mandarin word meaning "nearly" or "almost" is chàbuduō. It is made up of three characters: 差 (chà) means "differ from," 不 (bù) is a negating particle, and 多 (duō) means “many” or “much.”
The last two characters 不多 (buduō) mean “not a lot,” so the literal meaning of these three characters is “doesn’t differ a lot,” hence “nearly.”
Examples Using Chabuduo
Zài wǒde bān shàng chàbuduō yǒu sānshí gè xuésheng.
在我的班上差不多有三十個學生｡
在我的班上差不多有三十个学生｡
There are about 30 students in my class.
Cóng Táizhōng dào Táiběi chàbuduō shì liǎng gè xiǎoshí.
從台中到台北差不多是兩個小時｡
从台中到台北差不多是两个小时｡
It takes about two hours to go from Taichung to Taipei.
The last two characters 不多 (buduō) mean “not a lot,” so the literal meaning of these three characters is “doesn’t differ a lot,” hence “nearly.”
Examples Using Chabuduo
Zài wǒde bān shàng chàbuduō yǒu sānshí gè xuésheng.
在我的班上差不多有三十個學生｡
在我的班上差不多有三十个学生｡
There are about 30 students in my class.
Cóng Táizhōng dào Táiběi chàbuduō shì liǎng gè xiǎoshí.
從台中到台北差不多是兩個小時｡
从台中到台北差不多是两个小时｡
It takes about two hours to go from Taichung to Taipei.
