多
many; much; how (in questions)
duō
What does 多 mean?
多 (duō) means 'many' or 'much' — it describes QUANTITY, not size. It works as an adjective (人很多 — there are many people) and also as a question word meaning 'how': 多大 (how old / how big), 多少 (how many / how much), 多远 (how far). When 多 modifies a noun directly, it usually takes 很 first — 很多人 (many people) — but never 多人 on its own. Unlike English 'many' (countable) vs 'much' (uncountable), 多 covers both: 很多书 (many books) and 很多水 (much water) use the same word. As a question prefix, 多 + adjective asks the DEGREE of that adjective and is one of the most useful patterns in beginner Chinese.
Character breakdown
many; much (two 夕 'evenings' stacked — many evenings = many days)
Memory hook: 多 is 夕 (evening) twice — one evening after another piling up: many evenings, many things.
Example sentences
我有很多朋友。
Wǒ yǒu hěn duō péngyou.
I have a lot of friends.
spoken
这个多少钱？
Zhè gè duōshao qián?
How much is this?
spoken
你今年多大？
Nǐ jīnnián duō dà?
How old are you this year?
spoken
今天人很多。
Jīntiān rén hěn duō.
There are a lot of people today.
neutral
Common phrases with 多
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
多 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
许多 also means 'many / a lot' but is slightly more written and formal. 很多 is the everyday spoken default; 许多 shows up more in books and articles.
Don't confuse 多 with
大 is size (big); 多 is quantity (many). 大书 = a big book; 多书 → 很多书 = many books.
几 asks 'how many' when the answer is expected to be small (under 10). 多少 asks 'how many / much' for any quantity, including prices.