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包罗万象 (bāo luó-wàn xiàng) — (idiom) all-embracing, all-inclusive, covering everything

Definition

Idiom meaning 'covering everything' — describes a range, collection, or content (speeches, books, topics) so broad it includes every kind. 一揽子 is an adjective for bundling policies or deals together, not for describing scope.

idiom
all-embracingall-inclusivecovering everything

Examples

  • 包罗万象，。
    Zhè běn bǎi kē quán shū bāo luó-wàn xiàng, bāo kuò le hěn duō xué kē.
    This encyclopedia is all-encompassing and covers many subjects.
  • 包罗万象，。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng bāo luó-wàn xiàng, cóng gǔ dài dào xiàn dài wú suǒ bù tán.
    His speech was all-encompassing, covering everything from ancient times to the modern era.
  • 包罗万象，。
    Zhè jiā shū diàn de shū jí bāo luó-wàn xiàng, shén me lèi xíng de dōu yǒu.
    The books in this bookstore are all-encompassing; there are books of every genre.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

包罗contain
包bāocontain罗luócollect
联合Coordinate
万象myriad phenomena
万wànten thousand象xiàngphenomena
偏正Modifier + head

Contain and collect combine with myriad phenomena to express embracing everything.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 羅; 罗 is its simplified writing.

  • 网网wǎngnet
  • 維維wéibird (tied with string)

The traditional form 羅 combines 网 (net) with 維 (a bird tied with string) to show a net for catching birds; the simplified 罗 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罗 →

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.

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.