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。
• 他 已经 有 几 个 房子 了。
• 我 姐姐 有 几 个 孩子，都 是 男孩。
• 我 已经 工作 几 年 了。
• 从 上海 到 东京 只 需要 几 个 小时。
• 我 每 天 都 要 喝 几 杯 咖啡。
• 他 有 几 个 女朋友。

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)

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 a few thousand times. (Wow!)
• 几 万 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。A couple tens of thousands went to that gathering. (This is a huge event, like a stadium rock concert)

See also

• Indicating a number in excess

Sources and further reading

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 641) →buy