clouds and earth; heaven and earth; great difference
Literary term for the vast gap between clouds and earth, used figuratively for an enormous difference. Often appears in the set phrase 雲壌の差 (うんじょうのさ) meaning 'a world of difference'.
There is a world of difference in ability between the two.
These two works are poles apart in quality.
Compound of 雲 (cloud) and 壌 (earth, soil). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of a vast gap.