Chinese word

大概

Pronunciation

Pinyindà gài

Meaning

  • adverbabout

Example

他大概八点到。tā dà gài bā diǎn dào

He will arrive at about eight.

Illustration for 大概 (about)

More examples

明天大概会下雨。míng tiān dà gài huì xià yǔ

It will probably rain tomorrow.

Core concept

A broad estimate that leaves the exact point or outcome open.

Common phrases

  • 大概会dà gài huì

    probably will

  • 大概在dà gài zài

    be around

  • 大概需要dà gài xū yào

    probably need

Similar words

可能kě néng: Indicates that an event has a chance of happening.
大约dà yuē: Shows an approximate amount, number, or time.
也许yé xǔ: Suggests that something may happen when the speaker is not sure.
差不多chà bu duō: Shows that something is nearly at a given level or standard.

Definition in Chinese

表示说话人对某事发生可能性的推测，语气较为不确定或委婉，也可表示大致数量或时间，口语中常作副词使用。biǎo shì shuō huà rén duì mǒu shì fā shēng kě néng xìng de tuī cè yǔ qì jiào wéi bú què dìng huò wéi wǎn yě kě biǎo shì dà zhì shù liàng huò shí jiān kóu yǔ zhōng cháng zuò fù cí shǐ yòng

Word origin

大 (dà, "large") + 概 (gài, "outline") forms the idea of a general view rather than an exact one.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, 大概 (dàgài, "about; probably") can come before an event as well as a number or time, so one word covers two uses that English often expresses with different words.

Other meanings

  • probablyadverb

Word lists with this word