1.
world of difference; vast gap; enormous disparity
An extremely large difference between two things, likened to the distance between clouds and mud — the highest and lowest things imaginable.
二人の実力には雲泥の差がある。
There is a world of difference in ability between the two.
去年と今年の成績には雲泥の差がある。
There is a vast difference between last year's and this year's results.
手作りのケーキと市販のケーキでは、味に雲泥の差がある。
There is a world of difference in taste between a homemade cake and a store-bought one.
An idiomatic expression combining 雲 (clouds) and 泥 (mud) — the most distant extremes — with 差 (difference). The image is that two things are as far apart as the sky and the ground.
ETYMOLOGY:
From classical Chinese, comparing the distance between clouds (the highest) and mud (the lowest). The standalone compound 雲泥 already means "vast difference," and adding の差 makes this explicit.
USAGE:
Almost always used in the pattern ～には雲泥の差がある (there is a world of difference in ~). Can describe positive or negative comparisons.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 天と地ほどの差 — difference as great as heaven and earth (similar meaning)
- 月とすっぽん — comparing the moon and a snapping turtle (two things that look similar but are vastly different in quality)
- 大きな差 — big difference (plain, non-idiomatic)