Meaning of 千
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- thousand
- used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1]
How to use 千
千 is the word for thousand and always needs a number in front of it when counting, as in 一千 (yìqiān, one thousand) or 三千 (sānqiān, three thousand). It also appears in many idioms where it just means a huge amount, and in 秋千 (qiūqiān, swing). Example: 这本书一千块。(Zhè běn shū yìqiān kuài.) This book costs one thousand yuan.
千 (qiān) looks like 十 (shí, ten) with an extra slanted stroke on top. Picture that small stroke as a little boost that turns ten into a much bigger number, a thousand.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 千 (qiān) with 干 (gān), which has a flat top stroke instead of a slanted one. Also, the top stroke of 千 is a short falling stroke from right to left, not a horizontal line.
千 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.
千 qiān · thousand · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 千.
| 千克 | qiānkè | kilogram |
| 千万 | qiānwàn | ten million; countless |
| 成千上万 | chéngqiān-shàngwàn | (lit.) by the thousands and tens of thousands (idiom); (fig.) untold numbers; innumerable; |
| 千方百计 | qiānfāng-bǎijì | lit. thousand ways, a hundred plans (idiom); by every possible means |
| 千钧一发 | qiānjūn-yīfà | (lit.) a thousand pounds hangs by a thread (idiom); (fig.) (at the) critical; perilous (mo |
| 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; |
| 千年 | qiānnián | millennium |
| 千真万确 | qiānzhēnwànquè | absolutely true (idiom); manifold |
| 千里 | qiānlǐ | a thousand miles; a thousand li (i.e. 500 kilometers) |
| 千金 | qiānjīn | thousand jin 斤 (pounds) of gold; money and riches |
Questions about 千
What does 千 mean?
千 (qiān) means "thousand" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 千?
千 is made of 1 character: 千 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 千 an HSK word?
Yes. 千 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 千万 only mean ten million?
No. As a number 千万 means ten million, but as an adverb it means 'be sure to' or 'by all means', often in warnings. For example, 千万别迟到 (qiānwàn bié chídào) means 'make sure you are not late'.
How do I say numbers like 10,000 using 千?
Chinese does not say 'ten thousand' with 千. It uses a separate unit, 万 (wàn), so 10,000 is 一万 (yíwàn), and 15,000 is 一万五千 (yíwàn wǔqiān).