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上百万 (shàng bǎi wàn) — (quantity) millions, several million

Definition

Approximates 'millions of / several million' (over a million) — note the irregular pinyin shǎng, not shàng. Use for large round numbers; for an exact count give a specific figure.

numeral
(quantity) millionsseveral million

Examples

  • 上百万。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu shàng bǎi wàn rén kǒu.
    This city has several million residents.
  • 上百万。
    Gōng sī tóu zī le shàng bǎi wàn měi yuán.
    The company invested millions of dollars.
  • 上百万。
    shàng bǎi wàn Nàn mín xū yào guó jì yuán zhù.
    Millions of refugees need international aid.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上shàngabove
百万million
百bǎihundred万wànten thousand
偏正Modifier + head

上 means above, 百 and 万 form million; together it means above a million, i.e. millions.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

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