Use “jǐ” to express “several” in Chinese

One of the definitions of the common character 几 (jǐ) is "several," or "a few". It's an uncertain number that is at least more than one, but less than ten.

中文常见字"几"的一个定义是"若干"或"一些"，指1-10之间的不确定的数量。

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.

"几"的最简单的使用方式是直接与量词连用。

几 + Measure Word + Noun

桌子上有几本书。

zhuōzi shàng yǒu jǐ běn shū.

There are a few books on the table.

只有几个人去了那个聚会。

zhǐyǒu jǐ gè rén qù le nà gè jùhuì.

Only a few people went to that gathering.

从上海到东京坐飞机只要几个小时。

cóng shànghǎi dào dōngjīng zuò fēijī zhǐ yào jǐ gè xiǎoshí.

Flying from Shanghai to Tokyo only takes a few hours.

我每天都要喝几杯咖啡。

wǒ měi tiān dōu yào hē jǐ bēi kāfēi.

Every day I need to drink a few cups of coffee.

老板今天开了几个重要的会。

lǎobǎn jīntiān kāi le jǐ gè zhòngyào de huì.

The boss had a few important meetings today.

几 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."

这和英语里我们说的"a few dozen"或"a couple dozen"类似，不过这里的情况不是指"twelves of something"，而是说"tens of something"。

几 + 十 + Measure Word + Noun

他只想学几十个汉字。

tā zhǐ xiǎng xué jǐ shí ge hànzì.

He only want 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。

zhè ge niánqīng de yǎnyuán yǎn le jǐ shí bù diànyǐng.

This young actor has acted in a dozen movies.

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".

中文里，我们可以把"几"与"百"、"千"或者"万"放在一起，就像英语里我们说的"a few hundred"或"a few thousand"。

几 + 百/千/万 + Measure Word + Noun

妈妈每个月都给我几百块钱。

māmā měi gè yuè dōu gěi wǒ jǐ bǎi kuài qián.

Mom give me a couple hundred dollars every month.

这个月我们卖了几千本书。

zhè ge yuè wǒmen mài le jǐ qiān běn shū.

We sold a couple thousand books this months.

几百家外国公司参加了这个大会。

jǐ bǎi jiā wàiguó gōngsī cānjiā le zhè ge dàhuì.

Several hundred foreign companies attended this conference.

这篇_文章有几万字，太长了。

zhè piān wénzhāng yǒu jǐ wàn zì, tài cháng le.

This article has tens of thousands of characters. It's too long.

Translated from: allsetlearning

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