There are many instances (both in conversation and writing) when we use approximate numbers. Talking about a person’s age, for example, we may say that he or she is “about 30.” We may also use approximate numbers when talking about prices: “It’s about $40.”
Mandarin Chinese uses the particle duō (多) to talk about approximate numbers. When used with approximate numbers, it means “more than” or “over.”
By itself, duō means “many,” and is used in expressions like “Zài zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō rén” (在這裡有很多人), which means, “There are many people here.”
Placement
When used for approximate numbers, duō can be placed either before or after the measure word. When using approximate numbers which end in 1-9, (2, 5, 47, etc.) duō usually comes after the measure word. Duō usually comes before the measure word for numbers which end in zero (30, 50, 150, etc.)
Please note that chàbuduō can also be used for approximate numbers.
Using Duo - Approximate Number Examples
In these examples, the Pinyin measure word is marked in bold.
| English | Pinyin | Traditional Characters | Simplified Characters |
| more than $25 | èr shí wǔ kuài duō (qián) | 二十五塊多 (錢) | 二十五块多 (钱) |
| more than 3 catties of chicken | sān jīn duō jī ròu | 三斤多雞肉 | 三斤多鸡肉 |
| over $100 | yī bǎi duō kuài qián | 一百多塊錢 | 一百多块钱 |
| more than 1000 people | yī qiān duō gè rén | 一千多個人 | 一千多个人 |
