Example sentences
xiàn现zài在jǐ几diǎn点？
What time is it?
nǐ你yǒu有jǐ几gè个hái孩zi子？
How many kids do you have?
The story behind the character
几
几 asks "how many" when you expect a small number, usually under ten: 你家有几口人 how many people are in your family, 几点了 what time is it. It also means "a few": 我有几个问题 I have a few questions. Because 几 needs a measure word, 几个人 is right and 几人 sounds clipped. For a number you expect to be large, Chinese switches to 多少.