Approximating with sequential numbers

Saying approximate numbers in Chinese is quite simple, and this article introduces one of the most basic ways to do so.

Structure

An easy way to express approximate numbers is to use two sequential numbers in a row.

Number + (Number+1)

This is similar to saying "x to y", "x or y" or "about x" in English.

三四 个人 Sānsì gèrénThree or four people
我喝了 七八 瓶啤酒了。 Wǒ hē le qī bā píng píjiǔ le. I drank 7 or 8 bottles of beer.
一两 天 Yī liǎng tiānOne or two days.
这个词我们学了 两三 次了。 Zhè gè cí wǒmen xué le liǎng sān cì le. This word we studied two or three times.
我等了你 一两 个小时。 Wǒ děng le nǐ yī liǎng gè xiǎoshí. I waited for you for one to two hours.
我们 三四 年没有见面了。 Wǒmen sān sì nián méiyǒu jiànmiàn le. We haven't seen each other for three or four years.
要做完这个工作需要 一两 个月。 Yào zuò wán zhè gè gōngzuò xūyào yī liǎng gè yuè. To complete this work you need one to two months.
他们家的孩子 五六 岁了吧。 Tāmen jiā de háizi wǔ liù suì le bā. Their child is about five or six years old.
这个东西只需要 七八十 块钱。 Zhè gè dōngxī zhǐ xūyào qī bā shí kuài qián. This thing only requires seventy to eighty kuai.
每个人要花 两三百 。 Měi gè rén yào Huā liǎng sān Bǎi. Every person needs to spend two to three hundred.