Expressing approximate numbers in Chinese is quite simple, and this
article introduces one of the most basic ways to do so.

Structure
---------

An easy way to express approximate numbers is to use two sequential
numbers in a row.

<div class="jiegou">
Number + (Number + 1)

</div>
This is similar to saying "x or y" or "about x" in English.

Examples
--------

<div class="liju">
-   <em>一 两</em> 天 <span class="pinyin"><em>yī liǎng</em>
    tiān</span><span class="trans">one or two days</span>
-   <em>三 四</em> 个 人 <span class="pinyin"> <em>sān sì</em> gè
    rén</span><span class="trans">three or four people</span>
-   老板 昨天 喝 了<em>七 八</em> 瓶 胡萝卜 汁 。
    <span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn zuótiān hē le <em>qī bā</em> píng
    húluóbo zhī.</span><span class="trans">The boss drank 7 or 8 bottles
    of carrot juice yesterday.</span>
-   这 个 词 我们 学 过 <em>两 三</em> 次 了 。
    <span class="pinyin">Zhège cí wǒmen xué guo <em>liǎng sān</em> cì
    le.</span><span class="trans">We've studied this word two or three
    times now.</span>
-   我 等 了 你 <em>三 四</em> 个 小时。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ děng le
    nǐ <em>sān sì</em> gè xiǎoshí.</span><span class="trans">I waited
    for you for three or four hours.</span>
-   他们 <em>七 八</em> 年 没 见面 了 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen
    <em>qī bā</em> nián méi jiànmiàn le.</span><span class="trans">They
    haven't seen each other for seven or eight years.</span>
-   要 做 完 这 个 工作 需要 <em>一 两</em> 个 月 。
    <span class="pinyin">Yào zuò wán zhège gōngzuò xūyào <em>yī
    liǎng</em> gè yuè.</span><span class="trans">To complete this work,
    you need one to two months.</span>
-   他们 家 的 孩子<em>五 六</em> 岁 了 吧 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen
    jiā de háizi <em>wǔ liù</em> suì le
    ba.</span><span class="trans">Their child is about five or six years
    old.</span>
-   这 件 衣服 只 要 <em>七 八 十</em> 块 钱 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè
    jiàn yīfu zhǐ yào <em>qī bā shí</em> kuài
    qián.</span><span class="trans">This clothing only costs seventy to
    eighty kuai.</span>
-   这 几 本 书 花 了 我 <em>两 三 百</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè jǐ
    běn shū huā le wǒ <em>liǎng sān
    bǎi</em>.</span><span class="trans">These few books cost me two or
    three hundred kuai.</span>

</div>
See also
--------

-   [Indicating a number in
    excess](Indicating_a_number_in_excess "wikilink")
-   [Measure words for counting](Measure_words_for_counting "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [A Practical Chinese Grammar For
    Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法)](A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(外国人实用汉语语法) "wikilink") (p.
    60)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001J0ADWA&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA)
-   [Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second
    Edition](Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition "wikilink") (pp.
    19-20)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0415372615)
-   [40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
    (基础汉语40课下册）](40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(基础汉语40课下册） "wikilink") (p.
    459)[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")