VocaPy Chinese Grammar

GrammarHSK 1 Practice

几 · 多少

jǐ · duōshao

Lesson 15: Asking about quantity: "几" and "多少"

Use 几 when you expect a quantity from 1 to 10; use 多少 for more than 10 or when it is hard to predict.

Hanyu textbook · Hanyu 1 · Lesson 15

你家有几口人？

Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?

How many people are there in your family?

Explanation

When the asker expects the quantity to be from 1 to 10, use “几”; when they expect more than 10, or the number is hard to predict, use “多少”.

几 + measure word + noun; 多少 + (measure word) + noun. Example: 这是几个？ / 这是多少(个)？

Structure

1
几lượng từdanh từ
Expected quantity from 1 to 10.
- 你吃几个？
  Nǐ chī jǐ gè?
  How many (pieces) are you eating?
- 你家有几口人？
  Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
  How many people are there in your family?
- 你有几本词典？
  Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn cídiǎn?
  How many dictionaries do you have?
- 你有几个中国朋友？
  Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè Zhōngguó péngyou?
  How many Chinese friends do you have?
- 这是几个？
  Zhè shì jǐ gè?
  How many are these?
2
多少lượng từoptionaldanh từ
Expected quantity over 10 or hard to predict; the measure word can be omitted.
- 你换多少？
  Nǐ huàn duōshao?
  How much are you exchanging?
- 你们公司有多少职员？
  Nǐmen gōngsī yǒu duōshao zhíyuán?
  How many employees does your company have?
- 你们班有多少学生？
  Nǐmen bān yǒu duōshao xuésheng?
  How many students are there in your class?
- 这是多少(个)？
  Zhè shì duōshao (gè)?
  How many (pieces) are these?

Practice

20 questions in 2 sets. One at a time, checked instantly, with explanations.