一千亿 (yī qiān yì) — one hundred billion (100,000,000,000)

Definition

The Chinese word for 100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion). In mainland China 一千亿 = 100,000,000,000; in traditional Chinese 億 = 100,000,000, so 一千億 is the same value. Use it for very large sums like GDP or company market value.

numeral
one hundred billion (100,000,000,000)

Examples

  • GDP一千亿。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de GDP dá dào le yī qiān yì měi yuán.
    This country's GDP reached one hundred billion US dollars.
  • 一千亿。
    Gōng sī shì zhí chāo guò yī qiān yì.
    The company's market value exceeds one hundred billion.
  • 一千亿。
    Zhèng fǔ jì huà tóu zī yī qiān yì yòng yú jī chǔ shè shī jiàn shè.
    The government plans to invest one hundred billion in infrastructure construction.

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.

一千one thousand
一yīone千qiānthousand
偏正Modifier + head
亿yìhundred million

一千 gives one thousand and 亿 the hundred-million unit, so together they mean one hundred billion.

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 →

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 億; 亿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
意
意yì億yì
Same sound today

The traditional form 億 pairs 人 (person) with 意 for its sound; the simplified 亿 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 亿 →

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