格差|かくさkakusa[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounqualitative difference; disparity; gap
   裕福ゆうふくな人々ひとびとと貧まずしい人々ひとびととの格差かくさはますます広ひろがっている。↗

   The gap between rich and poor is getting wider.

• SynonymギャップNeutralNeutral loanword for a gap or disconnect, as in 「理想と現実のギャップ」; typically used between perceptions or expectations, while 「格差」 centers on high–low standing.
• Related差異さいWrittenWritten/formal prose noun for how two things differ; leans academic and objective in comparing. 「格差」 instead stresses high–low gaps in rank, price or treatment.
• Related差さNeutralNeutral word for the difference between numbers, and for difference in general (「点差」「考え方の差」); the broadest of the group, but without 「格差」's focus on rank.
• RelatedひらきNeutralNeutral noun for the size of a gap, as in 「年齢の開き」; common in speech. 「格差」 stresses high–low standing rather than the sheer spread.
• Related隔たりへだたりNeutralNeutral noun for distance or estrangement, as in 「意識の隔たり」; it stresses being far apart or alienated, while 「格差」 stresses high–low disparity.
• Related違いちがいNeutralNeutral noun for difference, the everyday default; it only says things are not the same and carries no sense of high and low, unlike 「格差」.
• Antonym平等びょうどうNeutralNeutral noun for equality and even-handed treatment; the direct opposite of the high–low disparity 「格差」 describes.

Use 「格差」 for gaps in rank, price or treatment, as in 「格差社会」「価格の格差」. For difference in general pick 「違い」, for a numerical difference 「差」, for a gap in perception or a disconnect 「ギャップ」, for estrangement 「隔たり」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 資格しかくや価格かかく、等級とうきゅうなどの違ちがいによる差さ。
2. 経済けいざい格差かくさ。社会的しゃかいてき格差かくさ。