Approximate numbers: 左右, 多, 几, neighbouring numbers
数词 / numerals
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
To give a rough figure:
- 左右 (zuǒyòu) after the quantity: "about": 一百人左右.
- 多: "-odd, over". After a round number (10, 20, 100…) it goes before the measure word: 二十多个人. After a non-round number it goes after the measure word: 一个多小时 (over an hour).
- 几: "a few", or "dozens": 几十个, 十几个 (a dozen or so).
- Two neighbouring numbers: 三四个 (three or four), 七八天.
大概……左右 is common in speech but redundant; avoid it in writing.
Examples
这个视频有一百万左右的人看过。
Zhège shìpín yǒu yìbǎi wàn zuǒyòu de rén kàn guo.About a million people have watched this video.
我每天看两个多小时手机。
Wǒ měi tiān kàn liǎng ge duō xiǎoshí shǒujī.I spend over two hours a day on my phone.
新闻里说，有几十个人参加了活动。
Xīnwén lǐ shuō, yǒu jǐ shí ge rén cānjiā le huódòng.The news said several dozen people took part.
这件事我跟他说了三四遍。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒ gēn tā shuō le sān sì biàn.I've told him this three or four times.
Common mistakes
✗ 二十个多人 → ✓ 二十多个人。
✗ 两多个小时 → after a non-round number: ✓ 两个多小时。
✗ 左右一百人 → ✓ 一百人左右。