成百上千万 (chéng bǎi shàng qiān wàn) — tens of millions, millions upon millions (emphasizing a huge quantity)

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

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

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

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.

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.