成千上万

• Pinyin: chéng qiān shàng wàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 成 = accomplish; 千 = thousand; 上 = above/reach; 万 = ten thousand

Meaning

Thousands upon thousands; tens of thousands; a great many. An idiom emphasizing a very large quantity.

A common four-character idiom used to emphasize large numbers. More expressive than simply saying 很多. Often used for people, objects, or abstract things. Slightly literary but common in both spoken and written Chinese.

Examples

1. 成千上万的游客涌入了这座古城。 Thousands upon thousands of tourists flooded into this ancient city.
2. 这场音乐会吸引了成千上万的歌迷。 This concert attracted tens of thousands of fans.
3. 成千上万的候鸟每年从北方飞到南方过冬。 Tens of thousands of migratory birds fly from the north to the south every year to spend the winter.

Usage Guide

Context: description, emphasis, crowds

Tone: emphatic

Do Say

• 成千上万的人参加了这次抗议活动。(Tens of thousands of people participated in this protest.)
• 网上有成千上万的学习资源。(There are thousands upon thousands of learning resources online.)

Don't Say

• 成千上万的三个人 (Contradictory — don't use with specific small numbers)

Origin & History

Idiom combining 成千 (forming thousands) and 上万 (reaching ten-thousands). The structure emphasizes escalating large numbers.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal