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大概

dà gài
HSK 2.0 Level 4 HSK 3.0 Level 3 Adjective Very common

Definitions

  1. 1. roughly
  2. 2. probably
  3. 3. rough
  4. 4. approximate
  5. 5. about
  6. 6. general idea

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item
确切
què qiè

definite

确切 means exact or precise, opposite of approximate.

Related words

1 item
差不多
chà bu duō

almost

差不多 means almost or nearly; often used colloquially.

Synonyms

2 items
可能
kě néng

might (happen)

When expressing probability or likelihood, 可能 is similar but 大概 sounds more approximate.
大约
dà yuē

approximately

Both mean approximately, but 大约 is more formal and often used with numbers.

Usage notes

Collocations

Use 大概 + number to give an approximate amount (e.g., 大概五个人 about five people).

Common mistakes

Learners often overuse 大概 with 可能; 大概 implies an estimation, while 可能 is pure possibility.

Grammar

Guides that feature 大概

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

2 guides
HSK 2.0 Level 3+ HSK 3.0 Level 3+ 6 min
大概 and 三四个 for “About” and “Three or Four”

Give a rough number in two ways: put 大概 before the number (大概二十分钟), or say two neighbouring numbers together (两三天, 三四个, 七八岁).

Reading: dà gài Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 3+ HSK 3.0 Level 3+ 7 min
Adverbs 大概, 好像, 一定, 必须, 差不多, 几乎

Show how sure you are with 好像, 大概 and 一定, say what must happen with 必须, and say “almost” with 差不多 and 几乎.

Reading: dà gài Open guide

Example Sentences

1 shown
他 大概 有三十岁。
He is probably around thirty years old.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 大概

大
dà

big; large; great

大
dài

see 大夫[dài fu]

概
gài

general