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数千 (shù qiān) — several thousand

Definition

A written/formal numeral meaning 'several thousand' — used in reports and prose rather than everyday speech, where 人们 would more likely just say 几千.

numeral
several thousand

Examples

  • 数千。
    shù qiān Míng xué shēng cān jiā le zhè cì huó dòng.
    Several thousand students participated in this event.
  • 。
    Gōng sī tóu zī le shù qiān wàn yuán.
    The company invested several thousand ten-thousand yuan.
  • 数千，。
    shù qiān Nián lái, zhè ge chuán tǒng yì zhí liú chuán.
    For several thousand years, this tradition has been passed down.

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.

数shùseveral
千qiānthousand

The word combines 数 'several' with 千 'thousand' to mean several thousand.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 數; 数 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu數shù(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 數 pairs 攴, the meaning part, with 婁, the sound part; the simplified 数 is a shorthand.

Open 数 →

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 →
Appears in
Numbers & Counting

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