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那么些 (nà me xiē) — so much, so many (emphasizing a large quantity, often with surprise or complaint)

Definition

那么些 means 'so much / so many' with a tone of surprise or complaint about a quantity. In writing or neutral speech, 这么多/这么多 is more common; 那么些 sounds more colloquial and slightly dismissive.

so muchso many (emphasizing a large quantity, often with surprise or complaint)

Examples

  • 那么些，？
    Nǐ yí gè rén chī nà me xiē cài, chī de wán ma?
    You're eating so many dishes by yourself — can you finish them?
  • 那么些，。
    Tā yì tiān zuò le nà me xiē shì, zhēn bù róng yì.
    He did so many things in one day — it's really not easy.
  • 那么些，。
    Nǐ mǎi le nà me xiē shuǐ guǒ, jiā lǐ fàng bú xià le.
    You bought so much fruit — there's no room at home for it.

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.

那么so
那nàthat么memanner
偏正Modifier + head
些xiēquantity

那 'that' and 么 'manner' yield 'so'; 些 'quantity' gives 'so much/many'.

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
邑邑yìcity
Sound part声符shēngfú
冄
冉rǎn那nà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The right part 邑 shows a city, and the left part 冄 (written 冉) gives the sound. The character first named a state and was later used to mean 'that'.

Open 那 →

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 麼; 么 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
幺幺yāosmall, tiny
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má麼
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 麼 pairs 麻, which gives the sound, with 幺, which means small/tiny; the simplified 么 is a later shorthand.

Open 么 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 些 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

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