Using "ji" to mean "several"

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 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 几 本 书。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu jǐ běn shū.There are a few books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 次。Wǒ qùguò Zhōngguó jǐ cì.I have been to China a few times.
• 只有 几 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。Zhǐyǒu jǐ gèrén qùle nàgè jùhuì.Only a few people went to that gathering.
• 一 个 面包 只 要 几 块 钱。几 here literally means 'several' or 'more than one'Yīgè miànbāo zhǐyào jǐ kuài qián.One bun only costs a few kuai.
• 他 已经 有 几 个 房子 了。Tā yǐjīng yǒu jǐ gè fángzile.He already has a few rooms.
• 我 姐姐 有 几 个 孩子，都 是 男孩。Wǒ jiějiě yǒu jǐ gè háizi, dōu shì nánhái.My older sister has a few kids, they're all boys.
• 我 已经 工作 几 年 了。Wǒ yǐjīng gōngzuò jǐ niánle.I have already worked for a few years.
• 从 上海 到 东京 只 需要 几 个 小时。Cóng Shànghǎi dào Dōngjīng zhǐ xūyào jǐ gè xiǎoshí.Going from Shanghai to Tokyo only takes a few hours.
• 我 每 天 都 要 喝 几 杯 咖啡。Wǒ měitiān dōu yào hē jǐ bēi kāfēi.Everyday I need to drink a few cups of coffee.
• 他 有 几 个 女朋友。Tā yǒu jǐ gè nǚ péngyǒu.He has a few girlfriends.

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

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

• 桌子 上 有 几 十 本 书。There are a few dozen (literally "few tens") books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 十 次。Implying that it is quite a few times, easily can lose count.I have been to China a couple dozen times.
• 几 十 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。 Maybe somewhere between 20 and 50 peopleA couple dozen people went to that gathering.
• 我 每 天 只 用 几 十 块 钱。Everyday I only need to spend a couple dozen kuai.
• 从 上海 去 西藏，坐 火车 需要 几 十 个 小时。Going from Shanghai to Tibet, riding a train takes dozens of hours.
• 我 去 过 那 个 饭店 几 十 次。I have been to that restaurant a bunch of times.
• 这 个 公司 有 几 十 个 人。This company has a few dozen people.
• 我 已经 学 了 几 十 个 汉字 了。I've already studied a few dozen Chinese characters.
• 这 个 饭店 有 几 十 种 菜。This restaurant has dozens of types of dishes.
• 我 在 美国 待 了 几 十 天。I stayed in American for a few dozen days.

几 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

• 桌子 上 有 几 百 本 书。There are a few hundred books on the table.
• 我 去 过 中国 几 千 次。Wow!I've been to China thousands of times!
• 几 万 个 人 去 了 那 个 聚会。This is a huge event, like a stadium rock concert.Several tens of thousands went to that gathering.
• 妈妈 上 个 星期 借 给 了 我 几 百 块 钱。Last week Mother gave me a couple hundred dollars.
• 几 千 个 人 想 来 我们 公司 工作。Several thousands of people want to come work for our company.
• 这 本 书 有 几 万 个 字。This books has tens of thousands of characters.
• 这 句 话，你 已经 说 了 几 百 次 了。You've already said this hundreds of times!
• 他 每 个 月 只 有 几 千 块 钱。Every month, he only has a few thousand dollars.
• 在 上海，几 万 块 钱 不 能 买 到 房子。In Shanghai, a few tens of thousands of dollars cannot buy house.
• 她 的 家 里 有 几 百 双 鞋。She has a couple hundred pairs of shoes in her house.

See also

• Indicating a number in excess

Sources and further reading

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 641) →buy