Difference between revisions of "Using "ji" to mean "several""

m (Text replacement - "zhè ge" to "zhège")
m (Text replacement - "Zhè ge" to "Zhège")
Line 44: Line 44:
 
* 我们 公司 有 <em>几 十</em> 个 员工。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> ge yuángōng.</span><span class="trans">Our company has a few dozen employees.</span>
 
* 我们 公司 有 <em>几 十</em> 个 员工。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> ge yuángōng.</span><span class="trans">Our company has a few dozen employees.</span>
 
* 他 写 过 <em>几 十</em> 本 书,我 都 喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Tā xiě guo <em>jǐ shí</em> běn shū, wǒ dōu xǐhuan.</span><span class="trans">He wrote a few dozen books. I like them all. </span>
 
* 他 写 过 <em>几 十</em> 本 书,我 都 喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Tā xiě guo <em>jǐ shí</em> běn shū, wǒ dōu xǐhuan.</span><span class="trans">He wrote a few dozen books. I like them all. </span>
* 这个 年轻的 演员 演 了 <em>几 十</em> 部 电影。我都喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Zhè ge niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn le <em>jǐ shí</em> bù diànyǐng. Wǒ dōu xǐhuan. </span><span class="trans">This young actor has acted in dozens of movies. I like them all. </span>
+
* 这个 年轻的 演员 演 了 <em>几 十</em> 部 电影。我都喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Zhège niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn le <em>jǐ shí</em> bù diànyǐng. Wǒ dōu xǐhuan. </span><span class="trans">This young actor has acted in dozens of movies. I like them all. </span>
 
* 老板 在 国外 有 <em>几 十</em> 套 房子。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn zài guówài yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> tào fángzi.</span><span class="trans">The boss has a few dozen houses abroad.</span>
 
* 老板 在 国外 有 <em>几 十</em> 套 房子。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn zài guówài yǒu <em>jǐ shí</em> tào fángzi.</span><span class="trans">The boss has a few dozen houses abroad.</span>
  
Line 66: Line 66:
  
 
* 妈妈 每 个 月 都 给 我 <em>几 百</em> 块 钱。<span class="pinyin">Māma měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ <em>jǐ bǎi</em> kuài qián. </span><span class="trans">Mom gives me a couple hundred dollars every month.</span>
 
* 妈妈 每 个 月 都 给 我 <em>几 百</em> 块 钱。<span class="pinyin">Māma měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ <em>jǐ bǎi</em> kuài qián. </span><span class="trans">Mom gives me a couple hundred dollars every month.</span>
* 这 个 月 我们 卖 了 <em>几 千</em> 本 书。<span class="pinyin">Zhè ge yuè wǒmen mài le<em> jǐ qiān</em> běn shū. </span><span class="trans">We sold a couple thousand books this month. </span>
+
* 这 个 月 我们 卖 了 <em>几 千</em> 本 书。<span class="pinyin">Zhège yuè wǒmen mài le<em> jǐ qiān</em> běn shū. </span><span class="trans">We sold a couple thousand books this month. </span>
 
* <em>几 百</em> 家 外国 公司 参加 了 这个 大会。<span class="pinyin"><em>Jǐ bǎi</em> jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā le zhège dàhuì. </span><span class="trans">Several hundred foreign companies attended this conference. </span>
 
* <em>几 百</em> 家 外国 公司 参加 了 这个 大会。<span class="pinyin"><em>Jǐ bǎi</em> jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā le zhège dàhuì. </span><span class="trans">Several hundred foreign companies attended this conference. </span>
 
* 这 篇 文章 有 <em>几 万</em> 个 字,太 长 了。<span class="pinyin">Zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu <em>jǐ wàn</em> gè zì, tài cháng le. </span><span class="trans">This article has tens of thousands of characters. It's too long. </span>
 
* 这 篇 文章 有 <em>几 万</em> 个 字,太 长 了。<span class="pinyin">Zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu <em>jǐ wàn</em> gè zì, tài cháng le. </span><span class="trans">This article has tens of thousands of characters. It's too long. </span>

Revision as of 01:42, 17 January 2017

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 (jǐ) can be used to mean a few specific things

The simplest way to use 几 (jǐ) 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 本 书。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu běn shū.There are a few books on the table.
  • 只有 个 人 去 过 那 个 地方。Zhǐyǒu gè rén qù guo nàge dìfang.Only a few people have been to that place.
  • 从 上海 到 东京 坐 飞机 只 要 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zuò fēijī zhǐ yào gè xiǎoshí.Flying from Shanghai to Tokyo only takes a few hours.
  • 我 每 天 都 要 喝 杯 咖啡。Wǒ měi tiān dōu yào hē bēi kāfēi.Every day I have to drink a couple cups of coffee.
  • 老板 今天 开 了 个 重要 的 会。Lǎobǎn jīntiān kāi le gè zhòngyào de huì. The boss had a few important meetings today.

几 (jǐ) can be used to express a few "tens" of things

It is 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

  • 他 只 想 学 几 十 个 汉字。"Dozens" is the closest we can get in natural English to the Chinese, which literally means "tens."Tā zhǐ xiǎng xué jǐ shí ge Hànzì.He only wants to study a few dozen Chinese characters.
  • 我们 公司 有 几 十 个 员工。Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu jǐ shí ge yuángōng.Our company has a few dozen employees.
  • 他 写 过 几 十 本 书,我 都 喜欢。Tā xiě guo jǐ shí běn shū, wǒ dōu xǐhuan.He wrote a few dozen books. I like them all.
  • 这个 年轻的 演员 演 了 几 十 部 电影。我都喜欢。Zhège niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn le jǐ shí bù diànyǐng. Wǒ dōu xǐhuan. This young actor has acted in dozens of movies. I like them all.
  • 老板 在 国外 有 几 十 套 房子。Lǎobǎn zài guówài yǒu jǐ shí tào fángzi.The boss has a few dozen houses abroad.

几 (jǐ) can also be used to mean a few hundred, thousand, or ten thousand

In Chinese we can put 几 (jǐ) together with 百 (bǎi), 千 (qiān), or 万 (wàn), just like how in English we might say, "a few hundred" or a "few thousand."

Structure

几 + 百 / 千 / 万 + Measure Word + Noun

Examples

  • 妈妈 每 个 月 都 给 我 几 百 块 钱。Māma měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ jǐ bǎi kuài qián. Mom gives me a couple hundred dollars every month.
  • 这 个 月 我们 卖 了 几 千 本 书。Zhège yuè wǒmen mài le jǐ qiān běn shū. We sold a couple thousand books this month.
  • 几 百 家 外国 公司 参加 了 这个 大会。Jǐ bǎi jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā le zhège dàhuì. Several hundred foreign companies attended this conference.
  • 这 篇 文章 有 几 万 个 字,太 长 了。Zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu jǐ wàn gè zì, tài cháng le. This article has tens of thousands of characters. It's too long.
  • 我 认识 一 个 朋友,她 有 几 百 双 高跟鞋。Wǒ rènshi yīgè péngyou, tā yǒu jǐ bǎi shuāng gāogēnxié. I have a friend that has a couple hundred high-heeled shoes.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries