许多

• 拼音: xǔ duō
• 汉字拆解: 许 = 讠(speech) + 午 (noon, phonetic), meaning 'to allow/so much'; 多 = two 夕 (evening) stacked, meaning 'many'

含义

Many or a lot of. Used to indicate a large quantity or number of something.

许多 is slightly more formal than 很多 but is still common in both spoken and written Chinese. It can modify both countable and uncountable nouns. Related words include 很多 (very many, more colloquial), 不少 (quite a few), and 大量 (a large amount, more formal).

例句

1. 这里有许多好吃的东西。
2. 许多人喜欢在公园里散步。
3. 我去过许多国家。

用法指南

语境: daily conversation, writing

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 我有许多朋友。(I have many friends.)
• 许多学生都通过了考试。(Many students passed the exam.)

错误说法

• 我许多喜欢这个 (许多 modifies nouns, not verbs — say 我很喜欢这个 to mean 'I like this a lot')

起源与历史

许 means 'to allow' or 'perhaps,' and in this context carries a sense of 'so much as.' 多 means 'many' or 'much.' Together they form an emphatic expression meaning 'a great many.'

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal