几
jǐ
Several; how many?
How to ask “how many” in Chinese with 几 (jǐ) and 多少 (duōshao)
几 (jǐ) + Measure Word (+ Noun)? / 多少 (duōshao) (+ Measure Word) + Noun?
几 (jī) vs 多少 (duō shǎo) — how many/how much
HSK 1Numbers and Measure Words
几 (jǐ) + Measure Word (+ Noun)? / 多少 (duōshao) (+ Measure Word) + Noun?
HSK 1Numbers and Measure Words几 (jī) vs 多少 (duō shǎo) — how many/how much
Rule structure
几 (jǐ) is used when the speaker expects a relatively small number, but it does not define an exact numerical cutoff. 多少 (duōshao) is used for unknown or larger quantities and can often appear without a measure word, especially in general quantity questions.
Rule structure
几 (jǐ) is used when the speaker expects a relatively small number, but it does not define an exact numerical cutoff. 多少 (duōshao) is used for unknown or larger quantities and can often appear without a measure word, especially in general quantity questions.
Examples
你有几本书？
Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?
How many books do you have?
他买了几本书？
Tā mǎi le jǐběnshū?
How many books did he buy?
你有几个朋友？
Nǐ yǒu jǐgè péngyǒu?
How many friends do you have?
Examples
你有几本书？
Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?
How many books do you have?
他买了几本书？
Tā mǎi le jǐběnshū?
How many books did he buy?
你有几个朋友？
Nǐ yǒu jǐgè péngyǒu?
How many friends do you have?
Practice
Build the sentence
Drag the characters to put them in the correct order
Characters
Words from this rule
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “how many/how much” in Chinese with 几 vs 多少?
Use the structure: 几 (jǐ) + Measure Word (+ Noun)? / 多少 (duōshao) (+ Measure Word) + Noun?. For example: 你有几本书？ — “How many books do you have?”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
你有几本书？ — “How many books do you have?”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 1.
Tomyo
Learn Chinese grammar with smart reviews
Grammar explanations, exercises and spaced repetition — all in one app.
More HSK 1 grammar rules
块 — counting money
Number + 块 (kuài) / 元 (yuán) (+ Number + 毛 (máo) / 角 (jiǎo)) (+ 钱 (qián))
是 — “is” in Chinese
A + 是 (shì) + B
来 vs 去 — coming and going
来 (lái) / 去 (qù) + Place
星期 — days of the week
星期 (xīngqī) + Number
时间 — time words and word order
Subj. + Time … / Time + Subj. …
在 — actions in progress
(正 (zhèng)) 在 (zài) + Verb
会 — will, going to
会 (huì) + Verb
在 — location before verbs
Subj. + 在 (zài) + Place + Verb