多少

多少 (duōshǎo) is used when you want to ask about a quantity that is generally perceived as being 'many' or 'much', but you don't know the exact number. For example, if you're asking how many students are in a classroom, you'd use 多少 because you expect there to be a fair number of students.

Example: 你们班有多少学生？ (Nǐmen bān yǒu duōshǎo xuéshēng?) - How many students are in your class?

This is a great question! While both 多少 (duōshǎo) and 几 (jǐ) ask about quantity, the main difference is in the expected answer. You use 几 when you expect a smaller number (usually under ten). You use 多少 when you expect a larger or unknown number.

Example with 几: 你有几本书？ (Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?) - How many books do you have? (Perhaps expecting 2-3 books)
Example with 多少: 你们学校有多少学生？ (Nǐmen xuéxiào yǒu duōshǎo xuéshēng?) - How many students are in your school? (Expecting a large number)

No, you usually don't need a measure word directly after 多少 (duōshǎo) when asking about quantity. The measure word comes after the noun you're asking about, if applicable.

Example: 你有多少钱？ (Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo qián?) - How much money do you have?
Example: 这里有多少苹果？ (Zhèlǐ yǒu duōshǎo píngguǒ?) - How many apples are here?

Yes, absolutely! 多少 (duōshǎo) is commonly used to ask about the price of something.

Example: 这个多少钱？ (Zhège duōshǎo qián?) - How much is this?
Example: 这件衣服多少钱？ (Zhè jiàn yīfu duōshǎo qián?) - How much is this piece of clothing?

多少 (duōshǎo) is a neutral term and can be used in both formal and informal contexts. It's a very common and versatile word.

To answer a question using 多少 (duōshǎo), you simply state the quantity or price. You don't repeat 多少 in your answer.

Question: 你有多少钱？ (Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo qián?) - How much money do you have?
Answer: 我有五十块钱。 (Wǒ yǒu wǔshí kuài qián.) - I have fifty yuan.

You generally don't use 多少 (duōshǎo) to ask about someone's age directly. For adults, you'd typically ask '您多大年纪了？' (Nín duō dà niánjì le?) or '你多大了？' (Nǐ duō dà le?). For children, you might ask '你几岁了？' (Nǐ jǐ suì le?).

However, you *could* use 多少 if you were asking about the age of a group, like '这些学生多少岁？' (Zhèxiē xuéshēng duōshǎo suì?) - How old are these students?

No, 多少 (duōshǎo) is not used to ask about distance. To ask about distance, you would typically use '多远 (duō yuǎn)'.

Example: 这里离学校多远？ (Zhèlǐ lí xuéxiào duō yuǎn?) - How far is it from here to the school?

When in doubt, especially if the number could be larger or you truly don't know the range, it's safer to use 多少 (duōshǎo). It's more general and will always be understood. Using 几 (jǐ) when the number is clearly large might sound a bit odd.

Example: 你有多少个朋友？ (Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo gè péngyǒu?) - How many friends do you have? (This covers all possibilities)

While 多少 (duōshǎo) is more of a grammatical element, it appears in many common questions. One phrase you might hear is '不多不少' (bù duō bù shǎo), meaning 'just right' or 'neither too many nor too few'.

Example: 这杯咖啡糖不多不少，刚刚好。(Zhè bēi kāfēi táng bù duō bù shǎo, gānggāng hǎo.) - This cup of coffee has just the right amount of sugar.