多(おお)くの

Built from the noun 多(おお)く ("many; a lot" — the nominal form of the i-adjective 多(おお)い) + の. The resulting phrase functions as an attributive modifier, always placed before a noun.

Core pattern

多(おお)くの + noun = "many [noun]" / "a lot of [noun]"

KEY GRAMMATICAL CONTRAST (important!):
多(おお)い and 多(おお)くの behave differently:

• 多(おお)い is an i-adjective, but it is NOT used attributively before a noun in modern Japanese: *多(おお)い人(ひと) is unnatural.
• Instead, use 多(おお)くの人(ひと) to mean "many people."
• Or use 多(おお)い as a predicate: 人(ひと)が多(おお)い ("the people are many / there are many people").

So the choice between 多(おお)くの and 多(おお)い depends on the position:

• Attributive (before noun): 多(おお)くの + noun
• Predicate (after noun): noun + が/は + 多(おお)い

Common collocations

• 多(おお)くの人(ひと): many people
• 多(おお)くの場合(ばあい): in many cases
• 多(おお)くの時間(じかん): a lot of time
• 多(おお)くの問題(もんだい): many problems
• 多(おお)くの国(くに): many countries
• 多(おお)くの学生(がくせい): many students
• 多(おお)くの企業(きぎょう): many companies

Similar words

• たくさんの: many, lots of — conversational; used with both countable and uncountable nouns. More frequent in speech.
• 大勢(おおぜい)の: many (only for people; crowds of people)
• 数(かず)多(おお)くの: numerous (even more emphatic than 多(おお)くの; written)
• 数多(あまた): many (literary; somewhat archaic)
• いろんな / 様々(さまざま)な: various (emphasizes variety rather than raw count)

Register

多(おお)くの is the standard written and semi-formal choice. It appears in newspapers, essays, textbooks, speeches, and business writing. In everyday conversation, たくさんの or simply たくさん is more natural.

Watch out

Learners who start from the adjective 多(おお)い often try *多(おお)い人(ひと) or *多(おお)い問題(もんだい). These are ungrammatical in modern Japanese. Whenever you need to say "many X" as a modifier before a noun, use 多(おお)くの + noun.