Chinese word

几位

Pronunciation

Pinyinjǐ wèi

Meaning

  • pronounhow many people

Example

请问，几位用餐？qǐng wèn jǐ wèi yòng cān

Excuse me, how many people are eating?

Illustration for 几位 (how many people)

More examples

今晚会有几位来参加聚会？jīn wǎn huì yǒu jǐ wèi lái cān jiā jù huì

How many people will attend the party tonight?

Core concept

A polite headcount for a group of people.

Common phrases

  • 请问，几位用餐？qǐng wèn jǐ wèi yòng cān

    excuse me, how many people are eating?

  • 班上有几位学生bān shàng yǒu jǐ wèi xué shēng

    how many students are in the class

  • 来了几位客人lái le jǐ wèi kè rén

    how many guests came

Similar words

几个人jǐ gè rén: A casual way to ask how many people are in a group in everyday conversation.
多少人duō shǎo rén: Asking roughly how many people there are when the exact number is not known.

Definition in Chinese

表示用礼貌方式询问对方有多少人的表达，可独立成问句或放入句中，如询问就餐人数时常用。biǎo shì yòng lǐ mào fāng shì xún wèn duì fāng yǒu duō shǎo rén de biǎo dá kě dú lì chéng wèn jù huò fàng rù jù zhōng rú xún wèn jiù cān rén shù shí cháng yòng

Word origin

几 (jǐ, "how many") combines with 位 (wèi, "respectful measure word for people"), turning a question about an unnamed number of people into a polite inquiry about the group.

Usage tips

  • 几位 (jǐwèi, "how many people") sounds service-oriented and courteous, so it is especially useful at a restaurant or front desk rather than as the default wording among close friends.

Other meanings

  • how many guestspronoun

Word lists with this word