数万 (shù wàn) — several tens of thousands; many thousands

Definition

numeral
several tens of thousandsmany thousands

Examples

  • 数万。
    Zhè cì dì zhèn dǎo zhì shù wàn rén shòu shāng.
    This earthquake caused several tens of thousands of people to be injured.
  • 数万。
    Tā huā le shù wàn yuán mǎi xià nà liàng chē.
    He spent many thousands of yuan to buy that car.
  • 数万。
    Zhè ge chéng shì zhǒng le shù wàn kē shù.
    This city planted several tens of thousands of trees.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

数shùseveral
万wànten thousand

数 (several) sets the amount of 万 (ten thousand), meaning several ten-thousands.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 數; 数 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu數shù(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 數 pairs 攴, the meaning part, with 婁, the sound part; the simplified 数 is a shorthand.

Open 数 →

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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