is 4 "a few" or "several"?

[herbivorie]

When there are 4 people, do you say "there are a few people" or "there are several people"?

I know 2 or 3 can be called "a few", and 5 or 6 can be be called "several", but I'm not certain about 4 (and 7 or more).

 

[bhaisahab]

You could say either.

 

[herbivorie]

You could say either.

How about 7, 8, and 9? Are they "several"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

The differences between "few', "several", and "many" is quite subjective and often is determined by context.