千百万 (qiān bǎi wàn) — countless, a great many (used attributively)

Definition

Literary intensifier meaning 'countless, a great many' — pairs with a noun (千百万的…) to stress huge quantity. Attributive only; do not use as a predicate or count.

adjective
countlessa great many (used attributively)

Examples

  • 千百万。
    qiān bǎi wàn De rén mín qún zhòng zhī chí zhè xiàng gǎi gé.
    Countless masses of people support this reform.
  • 千百万。
    Tā wèi le qiān bǎi wàn de dú zhě xiě le zhè běn shū.
    He wrote this book for a great many readers.
  • 千百万。
    qiān bǎi wàn De xīng xing zài yè kōng zhōng shǎn shuò.
    Countless stars twinkle in the night sky.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

千qiānthousand
百bǎihundred
万wànten thousand

The numbers 千, 百, and 万 together suggest an immense, uncountable quantity.

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 →

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yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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 →

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