一两千万 (yī liǎng qiān mò) — ten to twenty million (rough estimate)

Definition

A rough-approximation numeral meaning 'ten to twenty million' (one or two tens of millions). Used when the exact figure is unknown or not important, similar to how English speakers say 'a few million.'

numeral
ten to twenty million (rough estimate)

Examples

  • 一两千万。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù xū yào tóu zī yī liǎng qiān mò.
    This project needs an investment of ten to twenty million.
  • 一两千万。
    Nà zuò chéng shì de rén kǒu dà yuē yǒu yī liǎng qiān mò.
    The population of that city is roughly ten to twenty million.
  • 一两千万，。
    Tā qù nián zhuàn le yī liǎng qiān mò, dàn jù tǐ shù zì wǒ bù qīng chǔ.
    He earned ten to twenty million last year, but I don't know the exact figure.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 兩; 两 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 兩 is described as combining 一 and 㒳. The simplified 两 is a later abbreviation.

Open 两 →

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 →

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 →

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