Estimation 几

HSK 4

Structure (结构 jiégòu)

1. 十几: ten several (11-19). 2. 几十/百/千: several tens/hundreds/thousands. 3. Tens/hundreds几: ...tens several/hundreds several.

几 is used after round tens, hundreds, or thousands to indicate a small approximate number (usually under 10).

When you don't know or don't want to state an exact number, 几 is the go-to word! It is used to indicate an approximate number greater than 10.

There are two main usages:

十几: means 'ten-something' (from 11–19). Example: 十几个人 (ten-something people).
几十, 几百, 几千: mean 'several tens', 'several hundreds', 'several thousands'. Here 几 represents a number from 2–9. Example: 几十块钱 (several tens of dollars).
You can also place 几 after a specific number, such as 二十几 (twenty-something).

我等了你十几分钟。
繁: 我等了你十幾分鍾。Wǒ děng le nǐ shí jǐ fēnzhōng.
I have been waiting for you for over ten minutes.
我们班有三十几个人。
繁: 我們班有三十幾個人。Wǒmen bān yǒu sānshí jǐ ge rén.
Our class has over thirty students.
这件衬衫要几百块钱。
繁: 這件襯衫要幾百塊錢。Zhè jiàn chènshān yào jǐ bǎi kuài qián.
This shirt costs several hundred yuan.
他每个月工资几千块。
繁: 他每個月工資幾千塊。Tā měi ge yuè gōngzī jǐ qiān kuài.
His monthly salary is several thousand yuan.
机场离市中心几十公里。
繁: 機場離市中心幾十公里。Jīchǎng lí shìzhōngxīn jǐ shí gōnglǐ.
The airport is several tens of kilometers away from the city center.

Wrong:他有几十本书。
Correct:他有十几本书。
十几 means "eleven to nineteen," while 几十 means "tens" (20–99); distinguish them clearly to avoid confusion about quantity.
Wrong:桌上有几本书。
Correct:桌上有好几本书。
The sentence "桌上有几本书" can be misunderstood as a question "How many books are on the table?" Using "好几本" (several) emphasizes the declarative meaning more clearly.