In many cases, we have different words with the similar meanings to describe one certain meaning. However, the words with similar meanings should be used in different situations and contexts to obey to the actual atmosphere properly. Therefore, it seems really important for the overseas students to learn to distinguish the similar words.

Let’s take 广泛and普遍as an example, both of which are adjectives applied to describe the wide scope. However, the former one emphasizes the wide scope which is opposite with 狭窄. You can say 广泛的研究and兴趣广泛. But 普遍has the meaning of being wide and also has intercommunity, with the totally different meaning with 特殊and个别. For example, 爱虚荣是人普遍的弱点.

Another group of similar words that the teachers in one-on-one Chinese learning programs would teach you would be 广阔、开阔and辽阔, meaning the area or space is wide. 广阔carries the meaning of being vast and wide, emphasizing the size. It can be used to describe the specific size, space and also the abstract space. You can say 面积广阔and广阔的草原. 辽阔is mainly to describe something is so wide that there is no end and only for the specific size and space. For the word开阔, there are two levels of meanings, the first of which is to describe the wide area while another is for the field of vision and wide mind like 心胸开阔.

The words 规则and规定are really confusing for most students. Even though both of them are applied to mean some kinds of standard, there are also some tint differences. 规则means the rules and regulations as well as principles should be obeyed, mostly the rules in written form. Accordingly, you can make sentence like 足球有足球的规则，棒球有棒球的规则.

When you attend to HSK preparation program in China, teachers would tell you that 规定is a kind of decision made to certain thing in means, method, quantity or quality. It has wider meaning than 规则. It can also used to indicate the measures and methods of dealing with things pr solving problems. You can say 规定完成时间.