vast distance; huge disparity
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 5 examplesphrase
a distance of one hundred and eight thousand li; an extremely long distance
Originally from Buddhist texts and popularized by Journey to the West (Sun Wukong's somersault cloud covers this distance). One li equals approximately 0.5 kilometers.
Sūn孙
Wù悟
kōng空
yī一
gè个
jīn筋
dǒu斗
néng能
fān翻
shí十
wàn万
bā八
qiān千
lǐ里
。
Sun Wukong can somersault one hundred and eight thousand li in a single flip.
Cǐ此
dì地
lí离
jīng京
chéng城
yǒu有
shí十
wàn万
bā八
qiān千
lǐ里
ne呢
。
This place is one hundred and eight thousand li away from the capital.
phrase
a huge difference or gap; poles apart
Used metaphorically to describe disparity in quality, standard, or level. Often follows verbs like 差 (fall short), 相距 (be apart), or 相差 (differ).
Tā他
shuō说
le了
bàn半
tiān天
，
lí离
zhèng正
tí题
hái还
chà差
shí十
wàn万
bā八
qiān千
lǐ里
ne呢
！
He talked for ages, but he was still one hundred and eight thousand li away from the main topic!
Zhè这
liǎng两
gè个
chǎng厂
xiāng相
bǐ比
，
jīng经
jì济
xiào效
yì益
xiāng相
chà差
shí十
wàn万
bā八
qiān千
lǐ里
。
Comparing these two factories, their economic benefits are poles apart.
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Nǐ你
de的
shuǐ水
píng平
hé和
tā他
xiāng相
bǐ比
，
hái还
chà差
shí十
wàn万
bā八
qiān千
lǐ里
ne呢
。
Compared to his level, you still fall short by one hundred and eight thousand li.