1 · Nouns, numbers and measure words
Asking how many: jǐ and duōshao
questions about number and amount
Jǐ expects a small number and takes a measure word; duōshao expects any number and can do without one.
Chinese has two words for “how many”. 几 is used when the speaker expects a small answer, roughly under ten, and it always takes a measure word: 你有几个孩子？, how many children do you have? 多少 is used when the number could be anything, especially a large one, and the measure word may be left out: 你们学校有多少学生？
Like every Chinese question word, 几 and 多少 stay where the answer will go. English moves “how many books” to the front; Chinese leaves the sentence as it is and swaps the number for the question word: 你买了几本书？ — 我买了三本书。 And there is no 吗: the question word already makes the sentence a question.
Some questions have a fixed word. 几 asks about things from a short, known list: the time (几点), the date (几号), the day of the week (星期几) and a child's age (几岁). 多少 asks about prices (多少钱) and about numbers that are labels, such as phone and room numbers.
The age question changes with the person asked. 几岁 is for children, because their age is a small number; for adults of your own generation ask 多大, “how big”; and for older people the polite form is 您多大年纪. Asking an adult 几岁 sounds as if you took them for a child.
The form
| a small number, with a measure word | 几个人？ |
| any number | 多少人？ |
| the price | 多少钱？ |
| the time | 几点？ |
| a child's age | 几岁？ |
| a phone number | 电话号码是多少？ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
几 expects a small answer and always takes a measure word.
你有几个兄弟姐妹？How many brothers and sisters do you have?
多少 is for any number, and the measure word may be left out.
这个城市有多少人？How many people live in this city?
The answer takes the place of the question word; nothing moves.
我有两个姐姐。I have two older sisters.
Clock times, dates and weekdays are asked with 几.
现在几点？What time is it?
Prices and phone numbers are asked with 多少.
这双鞋多少钱？How much are these shoes?
A closer look
Which number word for which question
The choice between 几 and 多少 says what the speaker expects. 你们班有几个学生？ would suggest a tiny class; with 多少 the question stays open. Where the expectation is unclear, 多少 is never wrong for a quantity — only for the fixed questions about time, date and weekday.
几 also combines with the place words to ask about a range: 几百, how many hundred, 几千, how many thousand. The same forms in a statement mean “several hundred”, “several thousand” — the topic on approximate numbers takes this further.
How to spot it
- 几
- 多少
- 几点
- 多少钱
Example sentences
你要几杯咖啡？How many coffees would you like?
今天几号？What's the date today?
你女儿几岁了？How old is your daughter?
你们公司有多少员工？How many employees does your company have?
一斤苹果多少钱？How much is a jin of apples?
今天星期几？What day is it today?
8 more example sentences
你学了几年汉语？How many years have you studied Chinese?
你的电话号码是多少？What's your phone number?
这本书有多少页？How many pages does this book have?
你每天睡几个小时？How many hours do you sleep a night?
我们明天几点见面？What time shall we meet tomorrow?
一共多少钱？How much is it altogether?
你在这儿住了几天？How many days have you been staying here?
您的房间号是多少？What's your room number?
Worth knowing (1)
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Jǐ with ma: a few
If 吗 is added anyway, the sentence is still a question, but 几 is no longer the question word: it now means “a few”, and the question is a yes-or-no one.
你有几个中国朋友吗？Do you have a few Chinese friends?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
几 stands where a number would stand, and a number cannot touch its noun — so 几 needs a measure word just as 三 does. Only 多少 may go straight before the noun.
Jǐ for a few, with a measure word; duōshao for any number, and for money.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.