nekoliko

Nekoliko is a quantifier used in several South Slavic languages, most commonly Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin, and Macedonian. It means “a few” or “several” and is used to indicate an indefinite but small number of countable nouns. It functions as a determiner or pronoun that precedes the noun it modifies.

Grammatical notes: In standard usage, following the word nekoliko the noun appears in the genitive plural. For example: nekoliko knjiga (several books), nekoliko puta (several times), nekoliko članova (several members). With mass or uncountable nouns, it is typically used with a unit or container phrase, such as nekoliko litara vode (a few liters of water).

Usage and meaning: Neoliko conveys approximation rather than an exact figure. It is more restrained than “više” (more/many) and generally broader than “par” (a couple). It can be combined with larger qualifiers to express approximate quantities, e.g., nekoliko stotina ljudi (several hundred people). The exact boundary of “several” varies by context and speaker.

Cross-linguistic notes: The word has cognates across related languages. In Macedonian, the equivalent is неколку (nekolku). Similar forms appear in other South Slavic languages with closely related meanings.

Etymology: The form arises from koliko (“how much/how many”) with the negation prefix ne, yielding a determiner that signals a non-specific but small quantity.