千万千万 (qiān wàn qiān wàn) — (adverb) by all means; absolutely must (emphatic, used for urgent requests or warnings)

Definition

Reduplicated 千万, an emphatic adverb meaning 'by all means / absolutely must', used to stress a strong request or warning — stronger and more urgent than 要 alone.

adverb
by all meansabsolutely must (emphatic, used for urgent requests or warnings)

Examples

  • 千万千万。
    Nǐ qiān wàn qiān wàn yào jì zhù zhè jiàn shì.
    You absolutely must remember this matter, no matter what.
  • 千万千万。
    Guò mǎ lù de shí hou qiān wàn qiān wàn xiǎo xīn.
    Whatever you do, be careful when crossing the street.
  • 千万千万。
    Tā qiān wàn qiān wàn bù néng zhī dào zhè jiàn shì.
    He absolutely must not find out about this.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

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