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成千上万 (chéng qiān shàng wàn) — thousands upon thousands; numerous; countless

Definition

A vivid idiom for 'thousands upon thousands', an emphatic, colloquial way to stress a huge number. Stronger than 大量 and more evocative than the plain 无数.

phrase
thousands upon thousandsnumerouscountless

Examples

  • 成千上万。
    Měi tiān dōu yǒu chéng qiān shàng wàn de shì mín lái gōng yuán sàn bù.
    Thousands of citizens come to the park for a walk every day.
  • ，成千上万。
    Qiū tiān dào le, chéng qiān shàng wàn de shù yè luò zài dì shàng.
    Autumn has arrived, and countless leaves have fallen to the ground.
  • 成千上万。
    Zhè ge tú shū guǎn lǐ chéng qiān shàng wàn de shū děng zhe nǐ lái dú.
    Thousands upon thousands of books in this library are waiting for you to read.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

成千reach thousands
成chéngreach千qiānthousand
动宾Verb + object
上万reach ten thousands
上shàngreach万wànten thousand
动宾Verb + object

The two halves both describe reaching thousands or ten thousands, so together they mean a very large number.

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

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 →

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 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 6Idioms & Set PhrasesNumbers & Counting

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