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若干 (ruò gān) — a certain number or amount (formal); several

Definition

A formal pronoun meaning 'a certain number or amount; several' — always indefinite, never interrogative. Unlike 几 and 多少, it cannot ask 'how many/how much'; it states an unknown but non-zero quantity, more written than spoken.

pronoun
a certain number or amount (formal)several

Examples

  • 若干。
    Huì yì tǎo lùn le ruò gān wèn tí.
    The meeting discussed a number of issues.
  • 若干。
    Gōng sī tí gōng le ruò gān jiě jué fāng àn.
    The company provided several solutions.
  • 若干，。
    Jīng guò ruò gān nián yán jiū, zhōng yú yǒu le tū pò.
    After several years of research, there was finally a breakthrough.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

若ruòunspecified number
干gānunspecified number

若 and 干 both carry an unspecified-number sense, so together they denote some amount or how many.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

若 began as a picture of a person combing their hair, associated with obedience.

Open 若 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Quantity & Amount

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