1.
an indefinite quantity in the hundreds, roughly 200–900
A round approximation used when the exact number is unknown or unimportant, and the speaker wants to indicate a quantity somewhere in the hundreds. Corresponds to English "a few hundred" or "several hundred." Frequently attaches to counters to describe quantities of people, days, years, items, etc.
At the new store's opening, several hundred customers formed a long line.
Composed of 数 (several; a few) + 百 (hundred). The prefix 数 can be attached to any large round number to create a vague estimate, and 数百 is one of the most common members of this family.
Related vague number expressions
- 数十: several dozen (roughly 20–90)
- 数百: several hundred (roughly 200–900)
- 数千: several thousand
- 数万: several tens of thousands
- 数十万: several hundreds of thousands
- 数百万: several millions
These all work the same way: 数 + round number = "several of that unit."
Common collocations
- 数百人: several hundred people
- 数百円: several hundred yen
- 数百年: several hundred years
- 数百年前: several hundred years ago
- 数百倍: several hundred times (as many / as much)
- 数百個: several hundred items
- 数百店舗: several hundred stores
- 数百メートル: several hundred meters
Grammatical behavior
数百 functions as a numeral, so it attaches directly to counters without a particle — just like any number. It can also stand alone as a noun meaning "several hundred (of them)."
Similar words
- 何百: hundreds of — more emotional, used when emphasizing a large amount ("hundreds and hundreds").
- 百以上: more than a hundred — a precise lower bound instead of a vague range.
- 百数十: a hundred and some tens — a fusion pattern meaning "a hundred plus several dozen."
Usage
数百 is a neutral, factual word. It does not imply "a lot" in an emotional sense the way 何百 does; it simply means "an unspecified quantity somewhere in the hundreds."