Dictionary › 大概

大概

dà gài

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 3 2-character word

大概 (dà gài) means "roughly". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 大概 means

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

How 大概 is used in grammar

大概 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Modal Stance Adverbs: 大概, 恐怕, 当然, 其实 (HSK 3)
• 也许/恐怕/大概: hedging expressions (HSK 4)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 3, adverbs (情态副词).

The characters in 大概

• 大dàbig; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐
• 概gài(bound form) general; approximate; without exception; categorically…

Example sentences

• 我大概懂了。
  I sort of understand.
• 她大概不会来了。
  It isn't likely that she will come.
• 下午大概天转晴。
  The sky will probably turn clear in the afternoon.
• 大概三平方英里。
  It's about three square miles.
• 我想他大概60岁
  I think he's about 60 years old.
• 我大概五点到这里。
  I arrived here about five o'clock.

Where 大概 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Degree & scope words (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read dà gài correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.