Meaning of 万
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ten thousand
- a great number
- surname Wan
- used in 万俟[Mo4 qi2]
How to use 万
万 is the basic unit for counting large numbers in Chinese, so 100,000 is 十万 (shíwàn) and one million is 一百万 (yìbǎiwàn). It also shows up in words meaning "extremely" or "in any case," such as 万一 (wànyī) and 万分 (wànfēn). Example: 这辆车三万块。(Zhè liàng chē sān wàn kuài.) This car costs thirty thousand yuan.
Picture 万 (wàn) as a single long roof stroke sheltering a huge crowd underneath, with a hooked arm sweeping them all in. One roof covering ten thousand people helps you link the shape to a big number.
Common mistake: Learners often translate large numbers by thinking in thousands, saying 十千 for 10,000 or 一百千 for 100,000, but Chinese groups digits by four, so you must use 一万 and 十万. Also do not confuse 万 with 方 (fāng), which has a dot on top and a different hook.
万 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
万 wàn · ten thousand · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 万.
| 千万 | qiānwàn | ten million; countless |
| 万一 | wànyī | just in case; if by any chance |
| 成千上万 | chéngqiān-shàngwàn | (lit.) by the thousands and tens of thousands (idiom); (fig.) untold numbers; innumerable; |
| 万能 | wànnéng | omnipotent; all-purpose |
| 万分 | wànfēn | very much; extremely |
| 万无一失 | wànwú-yīshī | surefire; absolutely safe (idiom) |
| 万万 | wànwàn | hundred million; (fig.) enormous quantity; absolutely; certainly (usually followed by a ne |
| 鹏程万里 | péngchéng-wànlǐ | the fabled roc flies ten thousand miles (idiom); one's future prospects are brilliant |
| 千变万化 | qiānbiàn-wànhuà | countless changes; constant permutation |
| 千家万户 | qiānjiā-wànhù | every family (idiom) |
| 千军万马 | qiānjūn-wànmǎ | magnificent army with thousands of men and horses (idiom); impressive display of manpower; |
| 万古长青 | wàngǔ-chángqīng | (idiom) enduring through the ages; ever-flourishing |
Questions about 万
What does 万 mean?
万 (wàn) means "ten thousand; a great number" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 万?
万 is made of 1 character: 万 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 万 an HSK word?
Yes. 万 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 万 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 万 is written 萬.
What does 千万 mean when it is not a number?
Besides "ten million," 千万 (qiānwàn) is used before a command to mean "be sure to" or "by all means." For example, 千万别忘了 (qiānwàn bié wàng le) means "whatever you do, don't forget."
When is 万 pronounced mò instead of wàn?
It is read mò only in the rare compound surname 万俟 (Mòqí). In every other word, and in the ordinary surname 万 (Wàn), it is pronounced wàn.