成成千上万 (chéng chéng qiān shàng wàn) — tens of thousands; a great number (of people or things)

Definition

An idiomatic expression meaning 'tens of thousands; countless', used to emphasize huge quantities of people or things. Often appears before 的 + noun, as in 成千上万的人.

numeral
tens of thousandsa great number (of people or things)

Examples

  • 成成千上万。
    Guǎng chǎng shàng chéng chéng qiān shàng wàn de rén zhèng zài huān hū.
    Tens of thousands of people in the square are cheering.
  • 成成千上万。
    Zhè cì huó dòng xī yǐn le chéng chéng qiān shàng wàn de guān zhòng.
    This event attracted tens of thousands of spectators.
  • 成成千上万。
    Tā huā le chéng chéng qiān shàng wàn de qián cái mǎi dào nà fú huà.
    He spent a huge amount of money to buy that painting.

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

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
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

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.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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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