How does one express uncertainty when describing numbers e.g. 170-odd cases

Question

I found myself stuttering when I tried to tell my boss that I had finished sending a-hundred-some-odd emails yesterday.

I've ask a similar question on HiNative a long time ago, and here I quote the answer I received:

十何人は10〜19人の間です

十数人はおおよそ10〜19人の間です

何十人は10〜99人までのことを言います

Following this logic, I reckon saying 百七十何通 might be it. However, somehow this does not ring a bell at all.

Is there no equivalent to this expression in Japanese?

@naruto Seeing 170 in the title it's fair to assume he meant 百七十何通 — Christer, Commented Mar 11, 2020 at 1:50
百七十数通送る / 百七十何通か送る. This difference of か is important. In the question form, 百七十何通か送りますか and 百七十何通送りますか have different meanings. The latter is a way of asking the exact volume. — kaboc, Commented Mar 12, 2020 at 7:36

naruto · Accepted Answer · 2020-03-11 05:57:42Z

4

You can say 百七十ちょい (very casual), 百七十ちょっと (casual), 百七十あまり and 百七十強（きょう） (formal).
You can also say 百七十幾つ（ひゃくななじゅういくつ） and 百七十幾ら（ひゃくななじゅういくら）, but you cannot use a counter (e.g., 通) with them.
百七十数通（ひゃくななじゅうすうつう） is also acceptable, but it's less common than the others presumably because 170 is already specific enough. 百数十通 is common (roughly between 110 and 190).
Yet another way to say this is 百七、八十通（ひゃくしち・はちじゅっつう）. See: What is the correct expression of 10/20, 20/30, 30/40 etc?

answered Mar 11, 2020 at 5:57

naruto

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Just to be sure, you meant saying 百七十強/百七十あまり/etc.通 is acceptable? (いつもお世話になっておりますナルトさん。)
– Yeti Ape
Commented Mar 12, 2020 at 14:20
1

@YetiApe Ah, they come after the count. 百七十通強, 百七十通あまり, etc.
– naruto
Commented Mar 12, 2020 at 14:35

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user36788user36788 · Accepted Answer · 2020-03-11 02:47:30Z

3

Off the top of my head,

約【やく】170

大雑把【おおざっぱ】に170くらい

170あまり　(implies slightly more than 170)

170弱【じゃく】　(implies slightly less than 170)

アバウト１７０　(just kidding)

answered Mar 11, 2020 at 2:47

user36788

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