Approximating with sequential numbers
"Two or three" — a quick estimate
- Don't know the exact count? String two numbers together.
- 两三个 = "two or three", 五六个 = "five or six".
- Consecutive numbers = "roughly that many".
Number + next Number + Measure
- Put two consecutive numbers side by side to estimate.
come来了five or six五六(measure word)个people人。
- to come来(completed / change)了五六个person人 = "five or six people came."
Practice
Five or six people came: 来了 ____ 个人。
Two consecutive numbers = an estimate: 五六个 = five or six.
Practice
Which gives an approximate amount?
Consecutive numbers (两三, 五六) estimate; a single number is exact.
Practice
Build: “Five or six people came.”
Verb + Number-Number + Measure + Noun: 来了 + 五六个 + 人.
more than ten十几 and 几十
- more than ten十几 = "ten-something" (11–19); 几十 = "tens of".
here这儿have有ten-something十几(measure word)本book书。
- more than ten十几本书 = "a dozen or so books."
Explore
Correct or broken?
Two ASCENDING neighbour numbers make an estimate: 七八个, 三四十 — one hedge is enough.
Practice
十几 means exactly ten.
十几 = ten-something (11–19), an estimate.
Recap
Key idea
- Number + next Number + Measure — "about that many": 两三个, 五六个
- more than ten十几 = ten-something; 几十 = tens of
- The two numbers must be consecutive
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Numbers.