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.


Asking about Small Numbers with 几 (jǐ)

Structure

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

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

Examples

  • 他 有 个 孩子? Tā yǒu gè háizi? How many kids does he have?
  • 你 家 有 个 房间? Nǐ jiā yǒu gè fángjiān? How many rooms are there in your house?
  • 他们 在 这里 住 个 星期? Tāmen zài zhèlǐ zhù gè xīngqī? How many weeks are they staying here?
  • 你 带 了 件 衣服? Nǐ dài le jiàn yīfu? How many pieces of clothing 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?

Asking about Big Numbers with 多少 (duōshao)

When the number is not certain, but you assume it's more than ten or even more, you need to ask the question with 多少 (duōshao).

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 多少 + Measure Word + Noun?

Examples

  • 你 去 过 多少 个 国家?Nǐ qù guo duōshao gè guójiā? How many countries have you been to?
  • 你们 班 有 多少 个 学生?Nǐmen bān yǒu duōshao xuéshēng? How many students are there in your class?
  • 你 大学 的 时候 看 了 多少 本 书?Nǐ dàxué de shíhou kàn le duōshao běn shū? How many books did you read when you were in college?
  • 他们 昨天 请 了 多少 个 朋友? Tāmen zuótiān qǐng le duōshao gè péngyou? How many friends did they invite yesterday?
  • 上海 有 多少 个 外国 公司? Shànghǎi yǒu duōshao gè wàiguó gōngsī? How many foreign companies are there in Shanghai?

See also

Sources and further reading

Books