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Several vs Many
So I've been wondering about 数倍 (Several times) vs 何倍 (Many times) for a while now because in one series I was working on it is shown that there are many forms that are stated to be a several times boost but are also stated to be many times boost at the same time or have a several times boost forms being comparable to a many times boost forms. So I decided to just go and search up if there actually is a difference between several times and many times in Japanese and this is what I found from this site.
www.money-press.info
「何倍」の「倍」の意味は、「ある量をその量と同じだけさらに増やしたもの」です。そのため、2倍と言うことも出来ます。「何倍」の場合は、2倍よりも更に大きい数量ということになります。同じ数以上の物を更に加える、もっと足して多くする、同じ数を何度か加えるという意味があります。「何倍」の場合は、数が多いということはわかりますがそれがどれくらいかは具体的にわからない状態です。それでも、沢山という意味で使われます。
So in Japanese, many times is not greater than several times. It is just another way to say more than two. Many times is actually at least 3 just like several times and not at least 4. And that would make a lot more sense since tens of times in Japanese can be written as either 数十倍 or 何十倍. I thought I should bring this up and change the current multiplier standards for many times from being at least 4x to at least 3x as that would be the more accurate way to use the multiplier. So in terms of Japanese words for multipliers below 100 without a directly stated number
数倍/何倍 (Several times/Many times) = >2 (3 or more)
桁違い (Order of magnitude) = 10
十数倍 (Closest word in English is Dozen times) = 11-19
数十倍/何十倍 (Tens of times) = 20-99
Multiplier Upscaling
And this brings me to my next point. If you have two multipliers that are both considered several/many (At least 3) times but both in series and in databooks one is explicitly shown and stated to be stronger than the other one. Would it be possible for the stronger form to be considered a higher boost like 4x rather than 3x since its explicitly shown to be superior to a 3x boost on top of also having a many times statement which means it could be a boost that is higher than 3 as 3 is just the bare minimum the boost could be based on the words several and many?
Like say there's a character using Form A that is stated to be a several times boost and there's an enemy that is slightly stronger than said character when using Form A but when he uses Form B which is stated to be a many times boost he becomes slightly stronger than the enemy.
Would an example like this be enough to warrant a slightly higher value for the stronger form that also have a several/many times statement? This would only apply to the forms that are stated to have something like a several/many times statement on top of being explicitly shown to be superior to another form that also has a several/many times statement. Simply being far stronger than another form without a statement wouldn't warrant anything higher than it simply scaling above the other forms unquantifiably.
So I've been wondering about 数倍 (Several times) vs 何倍 (Many times) for a while now because in one series I was working on it is shown that there are many forms that are stated to be a several times boost but are also stated to be many times boost at the same time or have a several times boost forms being comparable to a many times boost forms. So I decided to just go and search up if there actually is a difference between several times and many times in Japanese and this is what I found from this site.
何倍とは？の意味と使い方を解説
ここでは、一つの言葉の意味や使い方について掘り下げながらご紹介していきたいと思います。今回、ご紹介する言葉は「何倍」という言葉になります。数量を表す言葉なので、日常的によく使われる言葉ですが正しい意味や使い方を確認しまし ...
www.money-press.info
「何倍」の「倍」の意味は、「ある量をその量と同じだけさらに増やしたもの」です。そのため、2倍と言うことも出来ます。「何倍」の場合は、2倍よりも更に大きい数量ということになります。同じ数以上の物を更に加える、もっと足して多くする、同じ数を何度か加えるという意味があります。「何倍」の場合は、数が多いということはわかりますがそれがどれくらいかは具体的にわからない状態です。それでも、沢山という意味で使われます。
So in Japanese, many times is not greater than several times. It is just another way to say more than two. Many times is actually at least 3 just like several times and not at least 4. And that would make a lot more sense since tens of times in Japanese can be written as either 数十倍 or 何十倍. I thought I should bring this up and change the current multiplier standards for many times from being at least 4x to at least 3x as that would be the more accurate way to use the multiplier. So in terms of Japanese words for multipliers below 100 without a directly stated number
数倍/何倍 (Several times/Many times) = >2 (3 or more)
桁違い (Order of magnitude) = 10
十数倍 (Closest word in English is Dozen times) = 11-19
数十倍/何十倍 (Tens of times) = 20-99
Multiplier Upscaling
And this brings me to my next point. If you have two multipliers that are both considered several/many (At least 3) times but both in series and in databooks one is explicitly shown and stated to be stronger than the other one. Would it be possible for the stronger form to be considered a higher boost like 4x rather than 3x since its explicitly shown to be superior to a 3x boost on top of also having a many times statement which means it could be a boost that is higher than 3 as 3 is just the bare minimum the boost could be based on the words several and many?
Like say there's a character using Form A that is stated to be a several times boost and there's an enemy that is slightly stronger than said character when using Form A but when he uses Form B which is stated to be a many times boost he becomes slightly stronger than the enemy.
Would an example like this be enough to warrant a slightly higher value for the stronger form that also have a several/many times statement? This would only apply to the forms that are stated to have something like a several/many times statement on top of being explicitly shown to be superior to another form that also has a several/many times statement. Simply being far stronger than another form without a statement wouldn't warrant anything higher than it simply scaling above the other forms unquantifiably.
