Many and much are often confused in English. Here is a short guide to when each word is used and the difference between them.
Many is used before a countable noun to talk about a large number of things or people.
Many holidaymakers managed to avoid the worst of the delays.
I don’t think many people would argue with that.
Not many films are made in Finland.
How many years have you been here?
Much is used before an uncountable noun to talk about a large amount of something. Much is generally used in negative sentences.
They are grown on the hillsides in full sun, without much water.
People are happy because there’s not much crime here.
Furniture is so bulky, it takes so much room.
How much money did you make?
As an alternative to many or much, you can use ‘a lot of’ or ‘lots of’.
A lot of our land is used to grow crops for export.
I remember a lot of things.
Lots of pubs like to deck themselves out with flowers in summer.
He drank lots of milk.
To sum up, many and much are both used to talk about a large quantity. However, many is used with countable nouns and much is used with uncountable nouns, usually in negative sentences.
For other meanings and examples of many, visit MANY definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
For other meanings and examples of much, visit MUCH definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
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