Question about Chinese phrasing

[hard storm]

When they say "三五个人", do they mean three persons or five persons?

[blissful bolt]

this means 3-5 people

you might say 三到五个人 to be more explicit

this construction is more common with adjacent numbers, so [X] [X+1] [measure word] [noun]. 三四个人 3-4 people 十五六只猫 15-16 cats

[jagged current]

also works with tens, hundreds, etc. 二三十个 (20–30) for example

[frank zealot]

in literature cases, I prefer to regard 三五个人 as several people

[jagged current]

a handful of people

[hollow kraken]

a teaspoon of people

[digital trout]

a smattering of people