Using "ji" to mean "several"

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, but less than ten.

几 can be used to mean a few specific things

The simplest way to use 几 (jǐ) is to use it directly with a measure word. It means "a few," less than ten or so, things.

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.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 次。Wǒ qùguò Zhōngguó jǐ cì.I have been to China a few times.
• 只有 几 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。Zhǐyǒu jǐ gè rén qù le nàgè jùhuì.Only a few people went to that gathering.
• 一 个 面包 只 要 几 块 钱。(几 here literally means 'several' or 'more than one.')Yīgè miànbāo zhǐyào jǐ kuài qián.One bun only costs a few kuai.
• 他 已经 有 几 个 房子 了。Tā yǐjīng yǒu jǐ gè fángzi le.He already has a few rooms.
• 我 姐姐 有 几 个 孩子，都 是 男孩。Wǒ jiějiě yǒu jǐ gè háizi, dōu shì nánhái.My older sister has a few kids, they're all boys.
• 我 已经 工作 几 年 了。Wǒ yǐjīng gōngzuò jǐ nián le.I have already worked for a few years.
• 从 上海 到 东京 只 需要 几 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zhǐ xūyào jǐ gè xiǎoshí.Going 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 need to drink a few cups of coffee.
• 他 有 几 个 女朋友。Tā yǒu jǐ gè nǚ péngyǒu.He has a few girlfriends.

几 can be used to express a few "tens" of things

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

• 桌子 上 有 几 十 本 书。("Dozens" is the closest we can get in natural English to the Chinese, which literally means "tens.")Zhuōzi shàng yǒu jǐ shí běn shū.There are a few dozen books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 十 次。(Implying that it is quite a few times, easily can lose count.)Wǒ qù guo Zhōngguó jǐ shí cì.I have been to China a couple dozen times.
• 几 十 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。(Maybe somewhere between 20 and 50 people)Jǐ shí gè rén qù le nà gè jùhuì.A couple dozen people went to that gathering.
• 我 每 天 只 用 几 十 块 钱。Wǒ měi tiān zhǐ yòng jǐ shí kuài qián.Every day I only need to spend a couple dozen kuai.
• 从 上海 去 西藏，坐 火车 需要 几 十 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi qù Xīzàng, zuò huǒchē xūyào jǐ shí gè xiǎoshí.Going from Shanghai to Tibet, riding a train takes dozens of hours.
• 我 去 过 那 个 饭店 几 十 次。Wǒ qù guo nà gè fàndiàn jǐ shí cì.I have been to that restaurant a bunch of times.
• 这 个 公司 有 几 十 个 人。Zhè gè gōngsī yǒu jǐ shí gè rén.This company has a few dozen people.
• 我 已经 学 了 几 十 个 汉字 了。Wǒ yǐjīng xué le jǐ shí gè Hànzì le.I've already studied a few dozen Chinese characters.
• 这 个 饭店 有 几 十 种 菜。Zhè gè fàndiàn yǒu jǐ shí zhǒng cài.This restaurant has dozens of types of dishes.
• 我 在 美国 待 了 几 十 天。Wǒ zài Měiguó dāi le jǐ shí tiān.I stayed in the U.S. for a few dozen days.

几 can also be used to mean a few hundred, thousand, or 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

• 桌子 上 有 几 百 本 书。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu jǐ bǎi běn shū.There are a few hundred books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 千 次。Wow!Wǒ qùguò Zhōngguó jǐ qiān cì.I've been to China thousands of times!
• 几 万 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。This is a huge event, like a stadium rock concert.Jǐ wàn gè rén qù le nà gè jùhuì.Several tens of thousands went to that gathering.
• 妈妈 上 个 星期 给 了 我 几 百 块 钱。Māmā shàng gè xīngqī gěi le wǒ jǐ bǎi kuài qián.Last week Mother gave me a couple hundred dollars.
• 几 千 个 人 想 来 我们 公司 工作。Jǐ qiān gè rén xiǎng lái wǒmen gōngsī gōngzuò.Several thousands of people want to come work for our company.
• 这 本 书 有 几 万 个 字。Zhè běn shū yǒu jǐ wàn gè zì.This books has tens of thousands of characters.
• 这 句 话，你 已经 说 了 几 百 次 了。Zhè jù huà, nǐ yǐjīng shuō le jǐ bǎi cì le.You've already said this hundreds of times!
• 他 每 个 月 只 有 几 千 块 钱。Tā měi gè yuè zhǐyǒu jǐ qiān kuài qián.Every month, he only has a few thousand dollars.
• 在 上海，几 万 块 钱 不 能 买 到 房子。Zài Shànghǎi, jǐ wàn kuài qián bùnéng mǎi dào fángzi.In Shanghai, a few tens of thousands of dollars cannot buy house.
• 她 的 家 里 有 几 百 双 鞋。Tā de jiā li yǒu jǐ bǎi shuāng xié.She has a couple hundred pairs of shoes in her house.

See also

• Indicating a number in excess

Sources and further reading

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 641) →buy