Measure words in quantity questions

Quantity questions are phrases for asking things like "how much?" or "how many?" You're going to need to use the question word 几 (jǐ) and measure words for this.

Structure

You can use the quantity question word 几 (jǐ) instead of a number to ask about quantity with measure words.

Subj. + Verb + 几 + Measure word + Noun?

Examples

  • 你 有 个 孩子? Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè háizi? How many kids do you have?
  • 他们 在 这里 待 个 星期? Tāmen zài zhèlǐ dāi gè xīngqī? How many weeks are they staying here?
  • 你 带 了 件 衣服? Nǐ dài le jiàn yīfu? How many pieces of clothes have you brought?
  • 老板 每 天 工作 个 小时 ? Lǎobǎn měi tiān gōngzuò gè xiǎoshí? How many hours does the boss work every day?
  • 他家 有 个 房间? Tājiā yǒu gè fángjiān? How many rooms are there in his house?
  • 你们 公司 有 个 部门? Nǐmen gōngsī yǒu gè bùmén? How many departments are there in your company?
  • 你们 需要 碗 米饭? Nǐ xūyào wǎn mǐfàn? How many bowls of rice do you need?
  • 他们 昨天 请 了 个 朋友 来 吃 晚饭? Tā zuótiān qǐng le gè péngyou lái chī wǎnfàn? How many friends did he invite to dinner yesterday?
  • 你哥哥 结婚以前 有 个 女朋友? Nǐ gēge jiéhūn yǐqián yǒu gè nǚpéngyou? How many girlfriends did your elder brother have before he got married?
  • 昨天 的 派对 他 一个人 喝 了 瓶 啤酒? Nǐ hē le píng píjiǔ? How many bottles of beer did you drink?


See also

Sources and further reading

Books