How to use 三四
Number + (Number + 1)
Two neighboring numbers can form a rough quantity without an explicit word meaning “or.” The smaller number comes first, and the resulting pair precedes the relevant unit or classifier. This is a practical way to give an estimate when precision is unnecessary or when the speaker does not know the exact count.
For approximate tens or hundreds, the paired digits can share the larger unit that follows them. The interpretation therefore depends on the unit, not simply on reading the digits as a single ordinary number. Two generally appears as 两 when counting quantities in these pairs. Listen for the grouping and context so an estimated range is not mistaken for an exact numeral.
Examples with pinyin and English
一两天
one or two days
三四个人
three or four people
老板昨天喝了七八瓶胡萝卜汁。
The boss drank 7 or 8 bottles of carrot juice yesterday.
这个词我们学过两三次了。
We've studied this word two or three times now.
What to remember
- Put the smaller adjacent number first.
- Let the pair share its classifier or unit.
- Read paired tens as an approximate range.
Practise the pattern
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.