数千万 (shù qiān wàn) — tens of millions; several tens of millions

Definition

A large indefinite number meaning 'tens of millions' (10–99 million). Read as shù, not shǔ — the numeral 'several', not the verb 'to count'.

numeral
tens of millionsseveral tens of millions
Easily confused

Examples

  • 数千万。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù tóu zī le shù qiān wàn yuán.
    This project invested tens of millions of yuan.
  • 数千万。
    Zhōng guó yǒu shù qiān wàn rén kǒu shēng huó zài chéng shì lǐ.
    Tens of millions of people in China live in cities.
  • 数千万。
    shù qiān wàn Guān zhòng guān kàn le zhè chǎng zhí bō.
    Tens of millions of viewers watched this live broadcast.

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
千万tens of millions
千qiānthousand万wànten thousand
联合Side by side

数 means several, 千 thousand, and 万 ten thousand, so 数千万 expresses tens of millions.

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 →

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 →

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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