天差地远 tiān chā dì yuǎn Worlds apart

Explanation

形容两者之间差距很大，相差极远。

Describes a huge difference between two things.

Origin Story

很久以前，在一个偏僻的小山村里，住着两位老人，一位是经验丰富的药农老张，一位是刚学医术不久的小李。老张医术高明，经验丰富，治好了无数村民的病痛，深受村民的爱戴。小李虽然也学医，但经验不足，医术远不及老张，只能处理一些简单的疾病。有一天，村里来了一位得了怪病的病人，症状复杂，病情危急。村民们都束手无策，纷纷向老张求助。老张仔细为病人诊脉后，开出了药方，并悉心照料病人，最终病人康复了。小李看到老张高超的医术，心中既敬佩又惭愧。他意识到自己和老张之间的差距如同天差地远，决心更加努力学习，不断提升自己的医术。从此，小李更加刻苦地钻研医术，虚心向老张请教，不断积累经验。几年后，小李的医术有了长足的进步，终于能够独立处理各种疑难杂症了。他和老张之间仍然存在差距，但已经不再像以前那样天差地远了。

hěn jiǔ yǐ qián, zài yīgè piānpì de xiǎo shān cūn lǐ, zhù zhe liǎng wèi lǎorén, yī wèi shì jīngyàn fēngfù de yàonóng lǎo zhāng, yī wèi shì gāng xué yīshù bù jiǔ de xiǎo lǐ. lǎo zhāng yīshù gāomíng, jīngyàn fēngfù, zhì hǎo le wúshù cūnmín de bìngtòng, shēn shòu cūnmín de àidài. xiǎo lǐ suīrán yě xué yī, dàn jīngyàn bùzú, yīshù yuǎn bùjí lǎo zhāng, zhǐ néng chǔlǐ yīxiē jiǎndān de jíbìng. yǒu yītiān, cūn lǐ lái le yī wèi dé le guàibìng de bìngrén, zhèngzhuàng fùzá, bìngqíng wēijí. cūnmínmen dōu shùshǒu wúcè, fēnfēn xiàng lǎo zhāng qiúzhù. lǎo zhāng zǐxì wèi bìngrén zhěn mò hòu, kāi le chū yào fāng, bìng xīxīn zhàoliào bìngrén, zhōng yú bìngrén kāngfù le. xiǎo lǐ kàn dào lǎo zhāng gāochāo de yīshù, xīnzhōng jì jìngpèi yòu cáikuì. tā yìshí dào zìjǐ hé lǎo zhāng zhī jiān de chājù rútóng tiān chā dì yuǎn, juéxīn gèngjiā nǔlì xuéxí, bùduàn tíshēng zìjǐ de yīshù. cóng cǐ, xiǎo lǐ gèngjiā kèkǔ de zuānyán yīshù, xūxīn xiàng lǎo zhāng qǐngjiào, bùduàn jīlěi jīngyàn. jǐ nián hòu, xiǎo lǐ de yīshù yǒu le chángzú de jìnbù, zhōng yú nénggòu dú lì chǔlǐ gè zhǒng yí nán zá zhèng le. tā hé lǎo zhāng zhī jiān réngrán cúnzài chājù, dàn yǐjīng bù zài xiàng yǐqián nà yàng tiān chā dì yuǎn le.

Long ago, in a remote mountain village, there lived two old men. One was Lao Zhang, an experienced herbalist, and the other was Xiao Li, who had recently started studying medicine. Lao Zhang was skilled and experienced in medicine, having cured countless villagers of their illnesses, and was deeply loved by them. Although Xiao Li also studied medicine, his experience was insufficient, and his medical skills were far inferior to those of Lao Zhang, and he could only treat simple illnesses. One day, a patient with a strange disease came to the village, with complex symptoms and a critical condition. The villagers were helpless, and turned to Lao Zhang for help. After carefully examining the patient's pulse, Lao Zhang prescribed a remedy and carefully cared for the patient, who finally recovered. Seeing Lao Zhang's superb medical skills, Xiao Li felt both admiration and shame. He realized that the gap between him and Lao Zhang was vast, and he decided to study harder and continuously improve his medical skills. From then on, Xiao Li studied medicine more diligently, humbly seeking advice from Lao Zhang and constantly accumulating experience. After several years, Xiao Li's medical skills made great progress, and he was finally able to independently treat various difficult and complicated diseases. There was still a gap between him and Lao Zhang, but it was no longer as vast as before.

Usage

用作谓语、定语；比喻两者相差极大。

yòng zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; bǐyù liǎng zhě xiāng chā jí dà

Used as predicate and attributive; it describes a huge difference between two things.

Examples

• 他们的差距天差地远。

  tāmen de chājù tiān chā dì yuǎn

  Their gap is worlds apart.

• 两国实力天差地远。

  liǎng guó shí lì tiān chā dì yuǎn

  The two countries' strengths are worlds apart.

Related Idioms

• 天壤之别

• 悬殊

Opposite Idioms

• 相差无几

• 不相上下