估计
Traditional: 估計
gū jì HSK 4

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

我估计他明天来。
Wǒ gūjì tā míngtiān lái.
I estimate he will come tomorrow.
她估计这本书很贵。
Tā gūjì zhè běn shū hěn guì.
She estimates this book is very expensive.
我们估计需要三小时。
Wǒmen gūjì xūyào sān xiǎoshí.
We estimate it will take three hours.
我估计时间。
Wǒ gūjì shíjiān.
I estimate the time.
他估计价格。
Tā gūjì jiàgé.
He estimates the price.

💡 Memory Tip

Think of the 估 (gū) part, which relates to assessment (as in 评估, to evaluate). Combine it with 计 (jì), which relates to calculation or planning (as in 计算, to calculate). Together, they mean 'assess and calculate' → estimate.

📝 Usage Notes

This word is neutral in register and is used frequently in both spoken and written Chinese, in formal and informal contexts. It is common in everyday conversation, business, project planning, and news reports when discussing forecasts, costs, timeframes, or likelihoods.

📖 Grammar Points

Often used with modal verbs like 会, 要, or 可能 to express the estimated outcome (e.g., 我估计他会来). It can be followed by a clause or a numerical/quantitative phrase. Can also be used as a noun (e.g., 这是我的估计).

🏯 Cultural Notes

In Chinese communication, using 估计 can soften a statement, making an opinion or prediction sound less absolute and more polite, which aligns with a cultural preference for indirectness and humility in some contexts.

🔄 Similar Words

预测 (yùcè) means 'to forecast' and often implies a more formal or data-driven prediction about the future. 猜测 (cāicè) means 'to guess' and is more speculative, with less basis in calculation. 估计 sits between them, involving reasoning but acknowledging approximation.

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