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千里迢迢 (qiān lǐ tiáo tiáo) — (idiom, adverb) from far away; over a long, arduous distance

Definition

An idiom meaning 'from a great distance,' emphasizing how far and arduous the journey is. Often modifies a verb (e.g., 千里迢迢地赶来) to highlight the effort of traveling.

idiom
(idiom, adverb) from far awayover a longarduous distance

Examples

  • 千里迢迢。
    Tā qiān lǐ tiáo tiáo dì cóng běi jīng fēi dào shàng hǎi lái cān jiā péng you de hūn lǐ.
    He flew all the way from Beijing to Shanghai to attend his friend's wedding.
  • 千里迢迢，。
    Zhè xiē shuǐ guǒ shì péng you qiān lǐ tiáo tiáo dài lái de, fēi cháng xīn xiān.
    These fruits were brought over a great distance by a friend; they are very fresh.
  • 千里迢迢，！
    qiān lǐ tiáo tiáo Gǎn lái, nǐ men xīn kǔ le!
    You've traveled a long way to get here — you must be exhausted!

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

千里a thousand li
千qiānthousand里lǐli
偏正Modifier + head
迢迢far
迢tiáofar迢tiáofar
重叠Reduplication

千里 denotes a thousand li and 迢迢 expresses how far it is, together meaning from afar.

Characters in this word

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yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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
辵辵chuòto walk
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào迢
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迢 pairs 辵, meaning to walk, with 召, which gives the sound.

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
辵辵chuòto walk
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào迢
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迢 pairs 辵, meaning to walk, with 召, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesTravel & Tourism

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