十有八九

Pronunciation: shí yǒu bā jiǔ Literal meaning: Ten has eight nine

Origin & Usage

Of ten (十), there are (有) eight (八) or nine (九). Its usefulness is that it names an honest degree of confidence — high but not asserted as certain. Speech is full of it, where English would say nine times out of ten, and it is one of the more useful things a learner can pick up, because it fits almost any prediction.

Examples

English: "The meteorologist predicted that rain was very likely for the weekend festival"

Chinese: 气象学家预测周末节日很可能下雨