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.
• 只有 几 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。Zhǐyǒu jǐ gè rén qù le nà gè jùhuì.Only a few people went to that gathering.
• 从 上海 到 东京 坐 飞机 只 要 几 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zuò fēijī zhǐ xūyào 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 need to drink a few cups of coffee.
• 他 来 上海 以前 换 了 几 工作。 Tā lái Shànghǎi yǐqián, huàn le jǐ ge gōngzuò.He changed a few job before he came to Shanghai.

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

• 我老板 在 国外 有 几 十 套 房子。("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 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.
• 从 上海 去 西藏，坐 火车 要 几 十 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi qù Xīzàng, zuò huǒchē yào jǐ shí gè xiǎoshí.Going from Shanghai to Tibet, riding a train takes dozens of hours.
• 我们 公司 有 几 十 个 员工。Zhè ge gōngsī yǒu jǐ shí gè rén.This company has a few dozen people.
• 他 在 美国 的 时候 去 了 几 十 个 城市。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 bù néng 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 lǐ 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