Using "ji" to mean "several"

\r\nOne 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.\r\n== 几 can be used to mean a few specific things ==\r\nThe simplest way to use 几 is to use it directly with a measure word. It means "a few", less than ten or so, things.\r\n===Structure===\r\n

\r\n几 + Measure Word + Noun\r\n

\r\n===Examples===\r\n

• 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.

\r\n== 几 can be used to express a few "tens" of things ==\r\nSimilar 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".\r\n===Structure===\r\n

\r\n几 + 十 + Measure Word + Noun\r\n

\r\n===Examples===\r\n

• 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.

\r\n== 几 can also be used to mean a few hundred, thousand, or ten thousand ==\r\nIn 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".\r\n===Structure===\r\n

\r\n几 + 百/千/万 + Measure Word + Noun\r\n

\r\n===Examples===\r\n

• 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.

\r\n==See also==\r\n

• Indicating a number in excess\r\n== Sources and further reading ==\r\n=== Books ===\r\n=== Dictionaries ===
• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 641) →buy\r\n\r\n