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I'm having trouble figuring out how to express vague amounts of time in
Japanese, such as `some number of months` or `some number of hours`.

I want to use this in a context where the specific number is neither important
nor known, but the factor of time passing/occurring is important. For example:

> `Some hours` later, he finished the test.
>
> Traveling to and staying in another country requires `some number of months`
> free.
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time
How to express vague amounts of time?
Two constructions spring to mind here.

数{すう} can be used in place of a specific number, followed by a counter, to
mean "some" / "a few" / "several" (it doesn't really make a distinction in
this respect...).

> 数時間後、彼は試験を終わった。

This can be used in ways you might not expect:

> 数十秒 some tens of seconds  
>  十数秒 ten-(and-some)-odd seconds (between 10 and 19)  
>  二十数年 twenty-(and-some)-odd years

Alternatively, you can use 何 + counter + か.

> 他の国に滞在するなら、[何ヶ月]{なんかげつ}かは開いておかなければなりません。

The same kind of uses seen above for 数 also apply to 何.
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I think Hyperworm already did a good job of answering the question, so I'll
just focus on saying "later"/"before".

Adding `前{まえ}` or `後{ご}` after any of these to mean "a few ... ago" or "after
a few ...", e.g. `数{すう}分{ふん}前{まえ}` "a few minutes ago" or `数{すう}分{ふん}後{ご}`
"after a few minutes":

  * `数{すう}秒{びょう}`: "a few seconds"

  * `数{すう}分{ふん}`: "a few minutes"

  * `数{すう}時{じ}間{かん}`: "a few hours"

  * `数{すう}日{じつ}`: "a few days"

  * `数{すう}週{しゅう}間{かん}`: "a few weeks"

  * `数{すう}[ヶ]{か}月{げつ}`: "a few months"

  * `数{すう}[年]{ねん}`: "a few years"

I don't think you can say `数{すう}時{じ}（後/前）`. I'm not sure whether
`数{すう}月{げつ}（後/前）` or `数{すう}週{しゅう}（後/前）` are valid or not, but `数ヶ月（後/前）` and
`数週間（後/前）` seem to be much more commonly used.
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2012-02-03T22:20:12.833
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