Japanese Conversation · Level 101
60 words
Japanese word
何百
Pronunciation
Romajinanbyaku
Meaning
- nounhundreds
Example
何百人もの人が祭りに来ます。nan byaku nin mo no hito ga matsu ri ni ki ma su
Hundreds of people come to the festival.
More examples
この図書館には何百冊もの本があります。ko no to sho kan ni wa nan byaku satsu mo no hon ga a ri ma su
There are hundreds of books in this library.
Core concept
It marks a substantial but unspecified quantity in the range of hundreds.
Common phrases
何百人nan byaku nin
hundreds of people
何百円nan byaku en
hundreds of yen
何百年nan byaku nen
hundreds of years
Similar words
数百sūhyaku: A quantity of several hundred that is not stated precisely.
Definition in Japanese
具体的な数を特定せず、百を幾つも数える程度の数量を表すこと。gu tai teki na kazu o toku tei se zu hyaku o iku tsu mo kazo e ru tei do no sū ryō o arawa su ko to
Word origin
The Sino-Japanese compound 何百 (nanbyaku) joins 何 (nan, "what or how many") with 百 (hyaku, "hundred") to express an unspecified number of hundreds.
Usage tips
- Unlike an exact count, 何百 (nanbyaku) leaves the number open, which makes 何百人 (nanbyakunin) suitable when the precise size of a crowd is unknown or unimportant.