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 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。There are a few books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 次。I have been to China a few times.
• 只有 几 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。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')One bun only costs a few kuai.
• 他 已经 有 几 个 房子 了。He already has a few rooms.
• 我 姐姐 有 几 个 孩子，都 是 男孩。My older sister has a few kids, they're all boys.
• 我 已经 工作 几 年 了。I have already worked for a few years.
• 从 上海 到 东京 只 需要 几 个 小时。Going from Shanghai to Beijing only takes a few hours.
• 我 每 天 都 要 喝 几 杯 咖啡。Everyday I need to drink a few cups of coffee.
• 他 有 几 个 女朋友。He has a few girlfriends.

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

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。There are a few dozen (literally "few tens") books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 十 次。I have been to China a couple dozen times.(implying that it is quite a few times, easily can lose count)
• 几 十 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。A couple dozen people went to that gathering. (maybe somewhere between 20 and 50 people)
• 我 每 天 只 用 几 十 块 钱。Everyday 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。Going from Shanghai to Tibet, riding a train takes dozens of hours.
• 我 去 过 那 个 饭店 几 十 次。I have been to that restaurant a bunch of times.
• 这 个 公司 有 几 十 个 人。This company has a few dozen people.
• 我 已经 学 了 几 十 个 汉字 了。I've already studied a few dozen Chinese characters.
• 这 个 饭店 有 几 十 种菜。This restaurant has dozens of types of dishes.
• 我 在 美国 待 了 几 十 天。I stayed in American 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 together with 百, 千, or 万, 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。There are a few hundred bucks on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 千 次。I've been to China thousands of times! (Wow!)
• 几 万 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。Several tens of thousands went to that gathering. (This is a huge event, like a stadium rock concert)
• 我 上 个 星期 借 给 他 几 百 块 钱，但是 他 忘 了 还 给 我。Last week I lent him a couple hundred dollars, but he forgot to pay me back.
• 几 千 个 人 想 来 我们 公司 工作。Several thousands of people want to come work for our company.
• 这 本 书 有 几 万 个 字。This books has tens of thousands of characters.
• 这 句 话，你 已经 说 了 几 百 次 了。You've already said this hundreds of times!
• 他 每 个 月 只 有 几 千 块 钱。Every month, he only has a few thousand dollars.
• 在 上海，几 万 块 钱 不 可能 买 到 一 个 房子。In Shanghai, a few tens of thousands of dollars cannot buy a house.
• 她 的 家 里 有 几 百 双 鞋。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） (pp. 641) →buy