3 · Nouns, numbers and measure words
Roughly: approximate numbers
about, more than and a few
Duō, jǐ, zuǒyòu, shàngxià and two neighbouring numbers make a number vague, each in its own place.
多, “and a bit more”, changes its place with the number. After a round number — ten, twenty, a hundred — it comes before the measure word: 二十多个人, twenty-odd people, somewhere between twenty-one and twenty-nine. After a number from one to nine it comes after the measure word, and then it means a fraction more: 三个多月, three months and a bit, 五块多, five yuan something.
几, which asks “how many?” in a question, means “a few” in a statement: 几个朋友, a few friends — usually somewhere between three and nine. It combines with ten and the place words: 十几个 is eleven to nineteen, a dozen or so, 几十个is a few dozen几百several hundred
左右, literally “left and right”, means “about” and follows the whole amount: 三十岁左右, about thirty, 八点左右, at about eight. 上下, “above and below”, works the same way for amounts such as ages, weights and temperatures, but not for clock times. Before the number, 大概 does the same job, as “roughly” does in English.
The shortest way is to say two neighbouring numbers, the smaller first, with no word for “or”: 三四个, three or four, 七八天, seven or eight days, 两三次, two or three times — with 两 for the two. Nine and ten cannot be joined this way, because 九十 already means ninety.
The form
| twenty-odd | 二十多个人 |
| three months and a bit | 三个多月 |
| a dozen or so | 十几个学生 |
| about thirty | 三十岁左右 |
| three or four | 三四天 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
After a round number, 多 comes before the measure word.
我们等了二十多分钟。We waited twenty-odd minutes.
After a number from one to nine, 多 comes after the measure word and means a fraction more.
这条鱼三斤多。This fish weighs a little over three jin.
In a statement, 几 means a few; 十几 and 几十 stretch it.
我在上海有几个朋友。I have a few friends in Shanghai.
左右 and 上下 follow the whole amount; only 左右 works for clock times.
我七点左右到。I'll be there around seven.
Two neighbouring numbers, the smaller first, mean “one or the other”.
他一个星期去两三次健身房。He goes to the gym two or three times a week.
A closer look
Shí duō jīn or shí jīn duō?
With a round number and a divisible unit, both places are possible, and they mean different things. 十多斤 is more than ten 斤, anywhere up to nineteen; 十斤多 is ten 斤 and a fraction, less than eleven. The position of 多 says which unit the extra belongs to: before the measure word it adds whole units, after it a part of one.
For things that cannot be divided — people, books, cars — only the first position exists: 十多个人, more than ten people. A fraction of a person makes no sense, so 多 after 个 is impossible with them.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the thing counted cannot be split into parts — people, books, cars
多 is used only after a round number, before the measure word.
我们班有三十多个学生。There are thirty-odd students in our class.
After the measure word it would mean part of one more, and there is no part of a person or a book.
How to spot it
- 多
- 几
- 左右
- 上下
- 大概
Example sentences
今天来了一百多个人。A hundred-odd people came today.
我学了一年多汉语。I studied Chinese for just over a year.
教室里有十几个学生。There are a dozen or so students in the classroom.
他爸爸六十岁上下。His father is about sixty.
从这儿走到车站要五六分钟。It's a five- or six-minute walk from here to the station.
这本书我看了好几遍。I've read this book quite a few times.
8 more example sentences
这件大衣两千多块。This coat costs two thousand-odd yuan.
我走了一个多小时。I walked for over an hour.
这个村子里只住着几十个人。Only a few dozen people live in this village.
我每个月的房租三千块左右。My rent is about three thousand yuan a month.
他一米八左右。He is about one metre eighty.
我们休息一两天再走吧。Let's rest for a day or two before we go on.
大概有五十个人报名了。About fifty people have signed up.
今天最高气温三十度上下。Today's high is around thirty degrees.
Worth knowing (1)
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Hǎojǐ: more than you would think
好几 is “a good few”: a number that is not given but is larger than the speaker expected, often with a note of surprise or complaint. It takes a measure word like 几.
我给他打了好几个电话。I phoned him quite a few times.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “three-odd hours” suggests putting 多 right after the number. But 三多 would mean “thirty-something without the ten”, which does not exist. Below ten, the extra is a part of the last unit, so 多 follows the measure word: three hours, and a bit.
After ten, twenty or a hundred, duō comes before the measure word; after one to nine, it comes after.
Your turn
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