<h3>1. About 三四个，四五个，五六个 and ballpark numbers</h3>
<p>It's common to express ballpark quantities with <strong>adjacent</strong> numbers.
三四个 means about three or four. Same works for 四五个，五六个.
Thus you can infer the use and meaning of 一两个，两三个，六七个，七八个，etc.</p>
<p>Example: 鸡汤里放多少个八角？五六个就够了。</p>
<p>It's less common to use such expression for numbers bigger than ten, but you certainly can!
For number bigger than ten: 十一二个 or 十一十二个，十二三个，十三四个，etc.</p>
<p>Example: 聚会来了几个人？大概十五六个人吧。</p>
<p>The reason it's less common for numbers bigger than ten, is likely because people would prefer to ballpark it on the scale of tens, it's also less awkward-sounding.</p>
<p>To further explain, imagine about 27-30 people came to my party. If I try to say 大概二十七八个人吧。It's long and awkward-sounding, it's also confusing to just read it! Thus, people would just say 将近三十人吧。(Almost thirty people.)</p>
<h3>2. About why 三五个 is more frequently used</h3>
<p>I will explain my best guess. First of all, 三五 is a kind of a special combination just by itself, it's used in classical Chinese literature to describe date, days, age, decades, it's also used in expressions related to astronomy, fengshui. The only reason I could come up with why 三五个 is widely accepted is because of the idiom/chengyu 三五成群。It means a small group of people.</p>
<p>Example: 这辈子我就三五个挚友。</p>
<h3>3. About why 四六个 is not an expression</h3>
<p>As I explained earlier, Chinese use <strong>adjacent</strong> numbers to express ballpark. 四 and 六 are not adjacent. You can infer the same for 五七个，七九个，etc.</p>
<p>If you look closely at google search results, you would find out 四六个 is NOT used by itself. It's often separated by punctuation, like: “主题四：六个实战案例”，“四-六个月大的宝宝”，or used as part of a sentence “二四六个字押韵的诗词”.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-13T14:22:42.760Z
For number bigger than ten, it usually puts like: 十三四岁，二十七八，etc. We can also say: 一百一二十岁, 一千两三百个，etc.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-13T17:41:08.763Z
Thank you! I am also wondering why 三四个 is more common than 四五个 or 五六个 whose frequency are very close.
Zuriel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-14T00:59:37.903Z
@Zuriel They are all common. The statistic isn't very meaningful. What really matters is the pattern is common.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-14T01:49:59.113Z
My parents tell me that where they're from (Taiwan) 七八 is avoided, especially the phrase 七八毛, which can mean either "7 or 8 tenths of a yuan" or "pubic hair." An example of having to know all the dirty words so that you know not to say them.
Allen Han
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-14T18:39:47.410Z
How about 九十个 then? Nine or ten, or ninety?
Zuriel
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-15T04:08:12.670Z
@Zuriel We don't say 九十个 because it means 90.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-13T14:07:17.080Z
2019-10-13T14:28:35.037Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
kuku
<p>if you also includes<br>
一两个 and 两三个  </p>

<p>you can see that the search results decrease as the number increases</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-14T20:59:55.013Z
2019-10-14T20:59:55.013Z
wada
<p>Here are the numbers of my google searh result with inverted commas:</p>

<ul>
<li>三五个：11,400,000</li>
<li>三四个：<strong>33,800,000</strong></li>
<li>四五个：14,500,000</li>
<li>五六个：12,600,000</li>
<li>四六个：<strong>4,710,000</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>As can be observed, the frequency of "三四个" stands out among others and the frequency of "四六个" is significantly lower.</p>

<p>I understand that in China, saying "六四", especially online, can be risky. But what's wrong with "四六"？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-14T17:27:55.640Z
hhha, 百八十个，千八百个 are other special cases
Toosky Hierot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-25T12:09:25.140Z
Native here. Never thought about that. We do not say "四六个", and it's not about whether it's risky or not. Personally I feel it sound strange.
Hongying
<number>
Why people more frequently say "三四个", less frequently say "三五个" or "四五个" or "五六个", and even more less frequently say "四六个"？
# Why people more frequently say "三四个", less frequently say "三五个" or "四五个" or "五六个", and even more less frequently say "四六个"？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-13)

Here are the numbers of my google searh result with inverted commas:

* 三五个：11,400,000
* 三四个：**33,800,000**
* 四五个：14,500,000
* 五六个：12,600,000
* 四六个：**4,710,000**

As can be observed, the frequency of "三四个" stands out among others and the frequency of "四六个" is significantly lower.

I understand that in China, saying "六四", especially online, can be risky. But what's wrong with "四六"？

**Tags:** number

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: hhha, 百八十个，千八百个 are other special cases  
> **username_2**: Native here. Never thought about that. We do not say "四六个", and it's not about whether it's risky or not. Personally I feel it sound strange.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-13. Score: 6

### 1. About 三四个，四五个，五六个 and ballpark numbers

It's common to express ballpark quantities with **adjacent** numbers.
三四个 means about three or four. Same works for 四五个，五六个.
Thus you can infer the use and meaning of 一两个，两三个，六七个，七八个，etc.

Example: 鸡汤里放多少个八角？五六个就够了。

It's less common to use such expression for numbers bigger than ten, but you certainly can!
For number bigger than ten: 十一二个 or 十一十二个，十二三个，十三四个，etc.

Example: 聚会来了几个人？大概十五六个人吧。

The reason it's less common for numbers bigger than ten, is likely because people would prefer to ballpark it on the scale of tens, it's also less awkward-sounding.

To further explain, imagine about 27-30 people came to my party. If I try to say 大概二十七八个人吧。It's long and awkward-sounding, it's also confusing to just read it! Thus, people would just say 将近三十人吧。(Almost thirty people.)

### 2. About why 三五个 is more frequently used

I will explain my best guess. First of all, 三五 is a kind of a special combination just by itself, it's used in classical Chinese literature to describe date, days, age, decades, it's also used in expressions related to astronomy, fengshui. The only reason I could come up with why 三五个 is widely accepted is because of the idiom/chengyu 三五成群。It means a small group of people.

Example: 这辈子我就三五个挚友。

### 3. About why 四六个 is not an expression

As I explained earlier, Chinese use **adjacent** numbers to express ballpark. 四 and 六 are not adjacent. You can infer the same for 五七个，七九个，etc.

If you look closely at google search results, you would find out 四六个 is NOT used by itself. It's often separated by punctuation, like: “主题四：六个实战案例”，“四-六个月大的宝宝”，or used as part of a sentence “二四六个字押韵的诗词”.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: For number bigger than ten, it usually puts like: 十三四岁，二十七八，etc. We can also say: 一百一二十岁, 一千两三百个，etc.  
> **username_0**: Thank you! I am also wondering why 三四个 is more common than 四五个 or 五六个 whose frequency are very close.  
> **username_4**: @username_0 They are all common. The statistic isn't very meaningful. What really matters is the pattern is common.  
> **username_5**: My parents tell me that where they're from (Taiwan) 七八 is avoided, especially the phrase 七八毛, which can mean either "7 or 8 tenths of a yuan" or "pubic hair." An example of having to know all the dirty words so that you know not to say them.  
> **username_0**: How about 九十个 then? Nine or ten, or ninety?  
> **username_4**: @username_0 We don't say 九十个 because it means 90.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2019-10-14. Score: 1

if you also includes  
一两个 and 两三个

you can see that the search results decrease as the number increases


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