Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 多少 | duōshǎo |
| 幾 / 几 | jǐ |
| 幾個 / 几个 | jǐgè |
These phrases are used to ask about quantities. You can use them as pronouns or determiners to inquire about a number.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 多少 is literally composed of the characters for "many" (多) and "few" (少).
Which one should you use?
The choice between forms depends on the scale of the number you expect. Use 几 or 几个 when you expect the answer to be a small number, typically fewer than ten. In contrast, use 多少 when you do not know the approximate scale of the number or expect a large number.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The grammar differs depending on the word chosen. When using 多少, you do not require a measure word (classifier) between it and the noun. However, when using 几, you must include a measure word, such as 个, before the noun. This is why you will see the form 几个 used for general countable nouns. For specific types of objects, you may use different measure words with 几, such as 几只 for small animals or 几条 for long, narrow objects.
How do you pronounce it?
duōshǎo
When do people say it?
To make the phrase 多少 sound more casual and friendly in informal settings, you can add 啊 to the end, resulting in 多少（个）啊.
Did you know?
- The simplified character 几 used in 几个 originally meant 'a small table', making its current use for numbers a visual coincidence in many fonts.
- While 多少 can be used alone to ask for a price, using 几 would be grammatically incorrect for asking 'how much' in a commercial transaction.
- Because 多少 consists of the characters for 'many' and 'few', it is logically structured as a spectrum rather than a single question word.
Examples in context
- 有多少人能做？How many people can do that?This sentence uses 多少 to ask about the number of people capable of doing something.Tatoeba #5640720 by verdastelo9604, translation #3731692 by CM
- 汉字有多少个？How many Chinese characters are there?This sentence uses 多少 to ask for the quantity of Chinese characters.Tatoeba #10961163 by xjjAstrus, translation #10115637 by CK
- 你跟多少人说了？How many people have you told?This sentence uses 多少 to ask how many people have been told.Tatoeba #4879254 by musclegirlxyp, translation #2912511 by CK
- 这个杯子里有多少水？How much water is in this cup?
- 你家有多少口人啊？How many people are there in your family?
- 这个地方有多少人？How many people are there in this place?
- 你包里有几个苹果？How many apples do you have in your bag?
- 105 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Junjie and Xinyi are at a fruit stall in a market.
- 浩然 Haoran这些苹果多少钱一斤？zhè xiē píng guǒ duō shǎo qián yì jīn?How much are these apples per jin?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen十块钱一斤。shí kuài qián yì jīn.Ten yuan per jin.
- 浩然 Haoran那我们要买多少？nà wǒ men yào mǎi duō shǎo?Then how many (how much) should we buy?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen买五斤吧。mǎi wǔ jīn ba.Let's buy five jin.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how many” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 幾, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
