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几千 (jǐ qiān) — several thousand

Definition

几千 means 'several thousand' — an approximate round number, usually meaning 2,000–8,000. It commonly pairs with measure words like 人, 块, or 年, but cannot be used as a verb or adjective.

numeral
several thousand

Examples

  • 几千。
    Zhè cì huó dòng lái le jǐ qiān rén.
    Several thousand people came to this event.
  • 几千。
    Tā huā le jǐ qiān kuài qián mǎi le yí gè xīn diàn nǎo.
    He spent several thousand yuan to buy a new computer.
  • 几千。
    Zhè ge chéng shì yǒu jǐ qiān nián de lì shǐ.
    This city has a history of several thousand years.

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.

几jǐseveral
千qiānthousand

几 means several, and 千 means thousand, so 几千 refers to several thousand.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 幾; 几 is its simplified writing.

  • 𢆶𢆶𢆶silk threads; little things
  • 戍戍shùto guard against

The traditional form 幾 puts 𢆶 (silk threads; little things) and 戍 (to guard against) together to show watching over the fine details; the simplified 几 is a later abbreviation.

Open 几 →

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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