"你在微博上有多少个粉丝？"

Translation: How many fans do you have on Weibo?

[woa7dSD5]

Is 个 necessary here?

[mikey_dredz]

I'm only just learning Mandarin - but a google search of "多少粉丝" without the "个" returns a lot of results. I'm guessing it's optional? (but duo marks it as wrong)

[David605027]

No, it's optional with 多少.

[jim140738]

i think "followers" instead of "fans" sounds more natural

[raeefai]

true, but 粉丝 is literally the direct chinese "spelling" of the word "fans". I guess that's what they're trying to get across more

[George792719]

I guess the reason it is 'fans' is because the actual Chinese characters 粉丝 fen-si make a sound like 'fans" when they are spoken out loud.

It's a bit sad if people on Weibo see everything like this. Like somehow having many fans makes up for a bit of self-confidence in your own self and your own thoughts and opinions. Also does everybody want to be like a movie or pop star these days?

[Egg148526]

I eat A$$

[James_learns_ZW]

friends instead of fans should be allowed

[GregorRick]

I think 'friends' or 'followers' would be better than 'fans'.

[hhif12]

fans??? You mean followers?

[E.N.J.A.]

why is it 多少 and not 几个？

[David605027]

几个 is generally only used where the amount is expected to be small, around 10 or less, for example for a small child's age you would ask 几岁？ whereas for an adult you would ask 多大？, or asking how many people at a restaurant 几位？or asking the time 几点？For larger amounts, 多少 is used, for example money 多少钱？or in the Duolingo sentence here.

[Monty916207]

Not sure about Weibo, but we would not fan on FB.

[Monty916207]

*say fan

[chetlin]

A long time ago, like in 2010, instead of liking a page you "became a fan".

[Anon341685]

Surely only celebrities have fanatics ?