多少

duōshao / duōshǎo
pronoun HSK 1 #360

Meanings

  1. 1 how many
  2. 2 how much

Characters

Literally 'how much how little', asking for a quantity.

Examples

HSK 1
Zhè ge duōshao qián?
How much does this cost?
HSK 1
Nǐ yǒu duōshao běn shū?
How many books do you have?
HSK 4
Cóng zhèlǐ dào jīchǎng yǒu duōshao gōnglǐ?
How many kilometers is it from here to the airport?

Tips

grammar
多少 is used for any quantity (large or small). 几 is used when you expect a small number (usually under 10). 这个多少钱? vs 你有几个孩子?
mistakes
Two readings, two words. The question word is this one, with a neutral second syllable. Give 少 its full third tone and 多少 is a different word meaning the amount of something, or, in front of a verb, somewhat.

Stroke Order

多 duō
少 shǎo