从…到…不等
ranging from A to B; anywhere between A and B
Structure
从 A 到 B 不等
What it means
'Ranging from A to B; anywhere between A and B': gives a range and stresses that the figures vary from case to case.
How it is built
从 A 到 B + 不等: 房租从两千到五千不等 (rents run anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000). A bare range works too: 三到五天不等.
When to use it
不等 ('not equal') closes the range. Neutral to written; more written is 由…至…不等. It also follows paired adjectives: 大小不等, 长短不等.
Watch out
不等 closes the frame and goes last: ✗不等从两千到五千。 ✓从两千到五千不等。 It describes several items that differ; for one rough figure use 左右.
Examples
各民族的人口从几千人到近两千万人不等。
The groups range in size from a few thousand to nearly 20 million people.
这一带的房租从两千到五千不等，主要看装修和楼层。
Rents round here run anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000, depending mainly on the fit-out and the floor.
Learn this in Lesson 10 · HSK 5: 五十六个民族 (The 56 ethnic groups)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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