User Comments - tinyrock
tinyrock
Posted on: Using 'Almost'
September 28, 2008, 06:19 PM@lisatiyamiyu 差一点儿 basically means "lacking 差 a little 一点儿"
@sebire You are right, 差不多 correspons to 左右, meaning approximately.
@millie1202 A rule of thumb for keeping them apart - if what you want to say can be expressed (grammatically) by replacing the "almost" with "by hair's breadth" in English, you have to use 差一点儿. If the almost modifies another word, you ought to use 差不多.
Posted on: Introducing a Friend
September 30, 2008, 08:19 PM@Cornelia, I think it does. You basically present that important person to all the others, indicating his superior rank. Getting to know the others is not the main focus. Furthermore, you will also have to greet the most senior/priviledged person first, don't even consider shaking the hands of the women present first (unless the aforementioned criteria apply to them, of course) as would be common in most European countries.