千言万语 (qiān yán wàn yǔ) — thousands upon thousands of words (expressing a…

Definition

A chengyu meaning a huge amount of words — used to express deep feelings (love, gratitude, longing) that are hard to put into words. Often contrasted with just a few spoken words that say it all.

idiom

thousands upon thousands of words (expressing a deep feeling that is hard to put into words)

Examples

，千言万语。
Lí bié de shí hou, wǒ yǒu qiān yán wàn yǔ xiǎng duì nǐ shuō.
At the moment of parting, I have thousands of things I want to say to you.
千言万语。
qiān yán wàn yǔ Yě shuō bú jìn wǒ duì nǐ de gǎn jī.
Thousands of words cannot fully express my gratitude to you.
千言万语：。
qiān yán wàn yǔ Huì chéng yí jù huà: xiè xie nǐ.
Thousands of words condense into one sentence: thank you.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

千言thousand words

千qiānthousand言yánspeech

偏正Modifier + head

万语ten thousand words

万wànten thousand语yǔspeech

偏正Modifier + head

“千” and “万” suggest very many, while “言” and “语” both mean speech, so the picture is countless words.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 語; 语 is its simplified writing.

言吾語

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yán

Sound part声符shēngfú

吾

吾wú語yǔ

Same sound today

The form 語 pairs 言 (speech) with 吾, which gives the sound; this note is about 語, not 语.

Open 语 →