多少
how many; how much
duōshao
What does 多少 mean?
多少 (duōshao) is the standard question word for asking 'how many' or 'how much' when the answer could be any number — large or small, countable or uncountable. Literally 'many-few,' it differs from 几 (jǐ) in one important way: 几 expects a small answer (under ten, usually) and almost always takes a measure word (几个人 'how many people'), while 多少 expects any number and the measure word is optional (多少人 or 多少个人).
Use 多少 for prices (多少钱 'how much money'), phone numbers, ages of adults, large quantities, and anything where you have no estimate. Note: the second syllable is the neutral tone shao, NOT shǎo — duōshao together is the question word; duō shǎo as two stressed syllables means 'more or less'.
Character breakdown
many; much
few; little
Memory hook: 'Many-few?' — literally asking 'how far on the many-to-few scale?' i.e. how much.
Example sentences
这个多少钱？
Zhège duōshao qián?
How much does this cost?
spoken
你的电话是多少？
Nǐ de diànhuà shì duōshao?
What's your phone number?
neutral
今天有多少人？
Jīntiān yǒu duōshao rén?
How many people are there today?
neutral
你多少岁？
Nǐ duōshao suì?
How old are you? (for adults)
spoken
Common phrases with 多少
Synonyms
Don't confuse 多少 with
Same characters, both tones pronounced: duō shǎo means 'more or less / to some extent' (literary). The question word is duōshao with neutral 少.
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