十有八九 [－－－－]

Jyutping sap6 jau5 baat3 gau2
Pinyin shí yǒu bā jiǔ

Definitions (CC-CEDICT)
  1. most likely
  2. mostly (in 8 or 9 cases out of 10)
  3. vast majority
Definitions (Wiktionary)
  1. phrase, idiomatic
    in all likelihood
  2. phrase, idiomatic
    most; mostly; the majority
Examples (Tatoeba—Mandarin-English)
  1. Mandarin
    他们十有八九要赶不上火车了。
    他們十有八九要趕不上火車了。
    tā men shí yǒu bā jiǔ yào gǎn bù shàng huǒ chē le 。
    • Ten to one they'll miss the train.
  2. Mandarin
    他十有八九会成功。
    他十有八九會成功。
    tā shí yǒu bā jiǔ huì chéng gōng 。
    • Ten to one, he will succeed.
  3. Mandarin
    他十有八九不会准时来。
    他十有八九不會準時來。
    tā shí yǒu bā jiǔ bù huì zhǔn shí lái 。
    • There is not much possibility of his coming on time.