<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta name="generator" content= "HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" /> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>One of the definitions of the common character 几 (jǐ) is "several," "a couple" or "a few." It's an uncertain number that is at least more than one, and probably less than five, but definitely less than ten.</p> <h2 id="几-jǐ-as-a-few">几 (jǐ) as "a Few"</h2> <p>The simplest way to use 几 (jǐ) to mean "a few" is to use it directly with a measure word.</p> <h3 id="structure">Structure</h3> <div class="jiegou"> <p>几 + Measure Word + Noun</p> </div> <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>桌子 上 有 <em>几</em> 本 书。<span class="pinyin">Zhuōzi shàng yǒu <em>jǐ</em> běn shū.</span><span class="trans">There are a few books on the table.</span></li> <li>只有 <em>几</em> 个 人 去 过 那 个 地方。<span class="pinyin">Zhǐyǒu <em>jǐ</em> gè rén qù guo nàge dìfang.</span><span class= "trans">Only a few people have been to that place.</span></li> <li>从 上海 到 东京 坐 飞机 只 要 <em>几</em> 个 小时。<span class="pinyin">Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zuò fēijī zhǐ yào <em>jǐ</em> gè xiǎoshí.</span><span class="trans">Flying from Shanghai to Tokyo only takes a few hours.</span></li> <li>我 每 天 都 要 喝 <em>几</em> 杯 咖啡。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ měi tiān dōu yào hē <em>jǐ</em> bēi kāfēi.</span><span class="trans">Every day I have to drink a couple cups of coffee.</span></li> <li>老板 今天 开 了 <em>几</em> 个 重要 的 会。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn jīntiān kāi le <em>jǐ</em> gè zhòngyào de huì.</span><span class= "trans">The boss had a few important meetings today.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="几-jǐ-as-a-few-tens">几 (jǐ) as "a Few Tens"</h2> <p>It is similar to how in English we can say, "a few dozen" or "a couple dozen," though in this case instead of "twelves of something" we are saying "tens of something."</p> <h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3> <div class="jiegou"> <p>几 + 十 + Measure Word + Noun</p> </div> <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>他 只 想 学 <em>几 十</em> 个 汉字。<span class= "expl pdf-long-expl">"Dozens" is the closest we can get in natural English to the Chinese, which literally means "tens."</span><span class="pinyin">Tā zhǐ xiǎng xué <em>jǐ shí</em> gè Hànzì.</span><span class="trans">He only wants to study a few dozen Chinese characters.</span></li> <li>我们 公司 有 <em>几 十</em> 个 员工。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> gè yuángōng.</span><span class="trans">Our company has a few dozen employees.</span></li> <li>他 写 过 <em>几 十</em> 本 书，我 都 喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Tā xiě guo <em>jǐ shí</em> běn shū, wǒ dōu xǐhuan.</span><span class= "trans">He wrote a few dozen books. I like them all.</span></li> <li>这个 年轻的 演员 演 了 <em>几 十</em> 部 电影。我都喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Zhège niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn le <em>jǐ shí</em> bù diànyǐng. Wǒ dōu xǐhuan.</span><span class="trans">This young actor has acted in dozens of movies. I like them all.</span></li> <li>老板 在 国外 有 <em>几 十</em> 套 房子。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn zài guówài yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> tào fángzi.</span><span class= "trans">The boss has a few dozen houses abroad.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="几-jǐ-as-a-few-hundred-thousand-ten-thousand">几 (jǐ) as "a Few Hundred / Thousand / Ten Thousand"</h2> <p>In Chinese we can put 几 (jǐ) together with 百 (bǎi), 千 (qiān), or 万 (wàn), just like how in English we might say, "a few hundred" or a "few thousand."</p> <h3 id="structure-2">Structure</h3> <div class="jiegou"> <p>几 + 百 / 千 / 万 + Measure Word + Noun</p> </div> <h3 id="examples-2">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>妈妈 每 个 月 都 给 我 <em>几 百</em> 块 钱。<span class="pinyin">Māma měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ <em>jǐ bǎi</em> kuài qián.</span><span class= "trans">Mom gives me a couple hundred dollars every month.</span></li> <li>这 个 月 我们 卖 了 <em>几 千</em> 本 书。<span class="pinyin">Zhège yuè wǒmen mài le <em>jǐ qiān</em> běn shū.</span><span class="trans">We sold a couple thousand books this month.</span></li> <li><em>几 百</em> 家 外国 公司 参加 了 这个 大会。<span class="pinyin"><em>Jǐ bǎi</em> jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā le zhège dàhuì.</span><span class="trans">Several hundred foreign companies attended this conference.</span></li> <li>这 篇 文章 有 <em>几 万</em> 个 字，太 长 了。<span class="pinyin">Zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu <em>jǐ wàn</em> gè zì, tài cháng le.</span><span class="trans">This article has tens of thousands of characters. It's too long.</span></li> <li>我 认识 一 个 朋友，她 有 <em>几 百</em> 双 鞋。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ rènshi yī gè péngyou, tā yǒu <em>jǐ bǎi</em> shuāng xié.</span><span class="trans">I have a friend that has a couple hundred pairs of shoes.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="好几-hǎojǐ-as-quite-a-few">好几 (hǎojǐ) as "Quite a Few"</h2> <p>You can think of 好几 (hǎojǐ) as meaning "quite a few," usually in the range of five to ten.</p> <h3 id="structure-3">Structure</h3> <div class="jiegou"> <p>好几 + Measure Word + Noun</p> </div> <h3 id="examples-3">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>他 读 了 <em>好几</em> 遍 。<span class="pinyin">Tā dú le <em>hǎojǐ</em> biàn.</span><span class="trans">He's read quite a few times.</span></li> <li>我 有 <em>好几</em> 个 室友 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yǒu <em>hǎojǐ</em> gè shìyǒu.</span><span class="trans">I have quite a few roommates.</span></li> <li>我 奶奶 有 <em>好几</em> 个 孩子 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ nǎinai yǒu <em>hǎojǐ</em> gè háizi.</span><span class="trans">My grandma has quite a few children.</span></li> <li>他 吃 了 <em>好几</em> 碗 米饭 。<span class="pinyin">Tā chī le <em>hǎojǐ</em> wǎn mǐfàn.</span><span class="trans">He ate quite a few bowls of rice.</span></li> <li>我们 去 过 <em>好几</em> 次 北京 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen qù guo <em>hǎojǐ</em> cì Běijīng.</span><span class="trans">We've been to Beijing quite a few times.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="Indicating_a_number_in_excess" title= "wikilink">Indicating a number in excess</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2> <h3 id="books">Books</h3> <h3 id="dictionaries">Dictionaries</h3> <ul> <li><a href= "%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8%EF%BC%88%E7%AC%AC5%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89" class="uri" title="wikilink">现代汉语词典（第5版）</a> (p. 641) <a href= "http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8/dp/B001B1RZCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345693609&sr=8-1"> →buy</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title= "wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p> </body> </html>