Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
几 and 多少: how many and how much
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
几 (jǐ) often asks about an expected small number and is followed by a classifier. 多少 (duōshao) asks a less restricted quantity. 多少钱 asks the price.
你有几本书？
Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?
How many books do you have?
这杯茶多少钱？
Zhè bēi chá duōshao qián?
How much is this cup of tea?
The small-number expectation for 几 is a tendency, not a strict numerical limit.
Try it
Which question asks for a price?
- 多少钱？
- 几点？
- 几个人？
Answer and explanation
多少钱？. 钱 means money; 多少钱 asks how much money.