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万万 (wàn wàn) — (adverb, before a negative) absolutely not, by no means; used to strongly negate or warn

Definition

万万 (wàn wàn) is a strong emphatic adverb used before a negative to intensify the negation, similar to 根本 and 并非. It sounds more literary and emphatic than 根本, and is typically paired with fixed expressions like 万万没想到.

adverb
(adverb, before a negative) absolutely notby no meansused to strongly negate or warn

Examples

  • 万万。
    Wǒ wàn wàn méi xiǎng dào tā huì zhè me zǎo jiù lái.
    I absolutely didn't expect him to come so early.
  • 万万。
    Zhè jiàn shì wàn wàn bù kě gào sù rèn hé rén.
    This matter absolutely must not be told to anyone.
  • 万万。
    Kāi chē de shí hou wàn wàn bù néng fēn xīn.
    You absolutely cannot get distracted while driving.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

万wànten thousand
万wànten thousand

Ten thousand 万 ten thousand 万 strongly intensifies a negation.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 7-9

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