几 (jǐ) means "how many, a few" with radical 几 (table), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: how many
Other meanings:
- a few
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
几 in its oldest forms depicts a small low table or armrest, shown as a simple frame with two legs and a flat top. Bronze and seal forms preserve this pictograph of a piece of furniture used for leaning on while sitting on the floor. The pictograph is clearer in the traditional form 幾, but the simple 几 itself originally stood for this low table.
Form evolution
The oracle-bone form is a straightforward two-legged frame. Seal script regularised the legs into curved downward strokes joined by a horizontal top. Clerical script flattened the top and straightened the legs into the two-stroke modern form. The simplified character 几 was later adopted to absorb the meaning of the unrelated 幾 (how many / several), which in its own seal form showed silk threads 幺幺 beside a halberd 戈 and a person 人.
How the meaning evolved
The original concrete meaning was a small table or stand, still seen in compounds like 茶几 (tea table). Through the simplification merger with 幾, 几 now also carries the interrogative and quantitative senses 'how many' and 'a few'. Modern learners encounter it almost exclusively in this second sense; the furniture meaning survives only in set compounds.
Cultural note
几 and 幾 were distinct characters for most of literary history, and traditional-character texts still keep them apart. This is a common stumbling block for learners who move between simplified and traditional material, since 几 in a classical text usually means the table, not the number word.
Basic info
| Pinyin | jǐ |
| Meanings | how many, a few |
| Radical | 几 (#16: table) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #1018 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 几
On the new HSK 1 exam
Studying for HSK 1? Keep 几 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.