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.
几 (jǐ) as "a Few"
------------------
The simplest way to use 几 (jǐ) to mean "a few" is to use it directly
with a measure word.
### Structure
几 + Measure Word + Noun
### Examples
- 桌子 上 有 几 本 书。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu
jǐ běn shū.There are a few books
on the table.
- 只有 几 个 人 去 过 那 个 地方。Zhǐyǒu
jǐ gè rén qù guo nàge
dìfang.Only a few people have been to
that place.
- 从 上海 到 东京 坐 飞机 只 要 几 个
小时。Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zuò fēijī zhǐ
yào jǐ gè xiǎoshí.Flying from
Shanghai to Tokyo only takes a few hours.
- 我 每 天 都 要 喝 几 杯 咖啡。Wǒ měi
tiān dōu yào hē jǐ bēi
kāfēi.Every day I have to drink a couple
cups of coffee.
- 老板 今天 开 了 几 个 重要 的
会。Lǎobǎn jīntiān kāi le jǐ gè
zhòngyào de huì.The boss had a few
important meetings today.
几 (jǐ) as "a Few Tens"
-----------------------
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."
### Structure
几 + 十 + Measure Word + Noun
### Examples
- 他 只 想 学 几 十 个
汉字。"Dozens" is the closest we
can get in natural English to the Chinese, which literally means
"tens."Tā zhǐ xiǎng xué jǐ shí
gè Hànzì.He only wants to study a few
dozen Chinese characters.
- 我们 公司 有 几 十 个 员工。Wǒmen
gōngsī yǒu jǐ shí gè
yuángōng.Our company has a few dozen
employees.
- 他 写 过 几 十 本 书，我 都 喜欢。Tā
xiě guo jǐ shí běn shū, wǒ dōu
xǐhuan.He wrote a few dozen books. I like
them all.
- 这个 年轻的 演员 演 了 几 十 部
电影。我都喜欢。Zhège niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn
le jǐ shí bù diànyǐng. Wǒ dōu
xǐhuan.This young actor has acted in
dozens of movies. I like them all.
- 老板 在 国外 有 几 十 套 房子。Lǎobǎn
zài guówài yǒu jǐ shí tào
fángzi.The boss has a few dozen houses
abroad.
几 (jǐ) as "a Few Hundred / Thousand / Ten Thousand"
----------------------------------------------------
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."
### Structure
几 + 百 / 千 / 万 + Measure Word + Noun
### Examples
- 妈妈 每 个 月 都 给 我 几 百 块
钱。Māma měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ jǐ bǎi
kuài qián.Mom gives me a couple hundred
dollars every month.
- 这 个 月 我们 卖 了 几 千 本 书。Zhège
yuè wǒmen mài le jǐ qiān běn
shū.We sold a couple thousand books this
month.
- 几 百 家 外国 公司 参加 了 这个
大会。Jǐ bǎi jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā
le zhège dàhuì.Several hundred foreign
companies attended this conference.
- 这 篇 文章 有 几 万 个 字，太 长
了。Zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu jǐ wàn gè
zì, tài cháng le.This article has tens of
thousands of characters. It's too long.
- 我 认识 一 个 朋友，她 有 几 百 双
鞋。Wǒ rènshi yī gè péngyou, tā yǒu jǐ
bǎi shuāng xié.I have a friend that
has a couple hundred pairs of shoes.
好几 (hǎojǐ) as "Quite a Few"
-----------------------------
You can think of 好几 (hǎojǐ) as meaning "quite a few," usually in the
range of five to ten.
### Structure
好几 + Measure Word + Noun
### Examples
- 他 读 了 好几 遍 。Tā dú le
hǎojǐ biàn.He's read quite a few
times.
- 我 有 好几 个 室友 。Wǒ yǒu
hǎojǐ gè shìyǒu.I have quite a
few roommates.
- 我 奶奶 有 好几 个 孩子 。Wǒ nǎinai
yǒu hǎojǐ gè háizi.My grandma
has quite a few children.
- 他 吃 了 好几 碗 米饭 。Tā chī le
hǎojǐ wǎn mǐfàn.He ate quite a
few bowls of rice.
- 我们 去 过 好几 次 北京 。Wǒmen qù guo
hǎojǐ cì Běijīng.We've been to
Beijing quite a few times.
See also
--------
- [Indicating a number in
excess](Indicating_a_number_in_excess "wikilink")
Sources and further reading
---------------------------
### Books
### Dictionaries
- [现代汉语词典（第5版）](现代汉语词典（第5版） "wikilink") (p. 641)
[→buy](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)
[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")