Approximating with sequential numbers

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

三四 个人 Sānsì gè rénThree or four people
我喝了 七八 瓶啤酒了。 Wǒ hē le qī bā píng píjiǔ le. I've drunk 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. We've studied this two or three times now.
我等了你 一两 个小时。 Wǒ děng le nǐ yī liǎng gè xiǎoshí. I waited for you for one or 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 ba. 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 needs (costs) 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.

Sources and further reading