几 (jǐ): how many, several, a few, almost, small table
几 (jǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “how many.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丿 (structural) and 乙 (structural). It ranks #211 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 几 a small table; compare 丌. Its radical form 几 (table) appears in many related characters such as 凭 (píng, to lean against), 凡 (fán, ordinary), 凤 (fèng, phoenix).
Definitions
- how many
- several
- a few
- almost
- small table
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA small table; compare 丌
Decomposition: ⿰丿乙 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 几 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 几
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 好几numeral | hǎo jǐ | several |
| 几千 | jǐ qiān | several thousand |
| 几率noun | jī lǜ | probability |
| 十几numeral | shí jǐ | more than ten |
| 几何adverb | jǐ hé | geometry |
| 几时adverb | jǐ shí | at what time? |
| 所剩无几phrase | suǒ shèng wú jǐ | there is not much left |
| 曾几何时phrase | céng jǐ hé shí | just a while before |
| 几何学noun | jǐ hé xué | geometry |
| 茶几noun | chá jī | small side table |
| 几内亚proper-noun | jǐ nèi yà | Guinea |
| 几近adverb | jī jìn | to be on the brink of |
| 寥寥无几phrase | liáo liáo wú jǐ | (idiom) very few |
| 几度 | jǐ dù | how many times |
| 几何级数noun | jǐ hé jí shù | geometric series |
几 appears in 100 compound words: 47 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 33 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 几 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
lit. twice then three times (idiom); fig. repeatedly; over and over again
lit. clear window and clean table (idiom); fig. bright and clean (room)
lit. twice then three times (idiom); fig. repeatedly; over and over again
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 几.
Example Sentences
几字在不同的语境中有不同的用法。
jī zì zài bù tóng de yǔ jìng zhōng yǒu bù tóng de yòng fǎ .
The character "几" has different usages in different contexts.
不升糖的食品有哪些?绿叶菜、鸡蛋、豆腐几乎不升糖吗
bù shēng táng de shí pǐn yǒu nǎ xiē ? lǜ xié cài , jī dàn , dòu fǔ jī hū bù shēng táng ma
What are the foods that do not raise blood sugar? Green leafy vegetables, eggs, and tofu hardly raise sugar
...针酿眼出血? 医揭62岁男左眼“全黑”:几近失明
. . . zhēn niàng yǎn chū xiě ? yī jiē 6 2 suì nán zuǒ yǎn quán hēi : jī jìn shī míng
... Needle cause eye bleeding? The doctor revealed that the 62-year-old man's left eye was "completely black": almost blind
前花旗高管警告:未来几十年人工智能机器人数量将超劳动人口
qián huā qí gāo guǎn jǐng gào : wèi lái jī shí nián rén gōng zhì néng jī qì rén shǔ liàng jiāng chāo láo dòng rén kǒu
Former Citi executive warns: The number of artificial intelligence robots will exceed the working population in the next few decades
上水粉锦公路3狗疑被虐待 1狗尾巴几乎甩脱
shàng shuǐ fěn jǐn gōng lù 3 gǒu yí bèi nüè dài 1 gǒu wěi bā jī hū shuǎi tuō
Sheung Shui Fenjin Highway 3 dogs suspected of being abused 1 dog's tail almost fell off
日本“猫经济”直逼3兆日圆 几乎追平大阪世博
rì běn māo jīng jì zhí bī 3 zhào rì yuán jī hū zhuī píng dà 阪 shì bó
Japan's "cat economy" is approaching 3 trillion yen, almost tying the Osaka World Expo
能不能请你等几分钟？
Néng bù néng qǐng nǐděng jǐ fēnzhōng?
Would you please wait for a few minutes?
您愿意听我说几分钟话吗？
Nín yuànyì tīng wǒ shuō jǐ fēnzhōng huà ma?
Will you listen to me for a few minutes?
可以举几个例子吗？
Kěyǐ jǔ jǐge lìzi ma?
Please give us some examples.
我们明天几点出发？
Wǒmen míngtiān jǐdiǎn chūfā?
What time do we leave tomorrow?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 几 (jǐ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 几 and 大?
How many strokes does 几 have?
What is the radical of 几?
What are the components of 几?
What are common words containing 几?
What characters sound the same as 几 (jǐ)?
Is 几 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 几 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.