千差万别

千差萬別
qiānchā-wànbié
idiom #67,922

Meanings

  1. 1 extremely diverse
  2. 2 infinitely varied
  3. 3 differing in countless ways

Examples

HSK 3
Měigè rén de xìnggé qiānchāwànbié.
Everyone's personality is different in countless ways.
HSK 4
Bùtóng dìqū de fēngsú qiānchāwànbié.
Customs vary enormously from region to region.

Tips

history
From 《景德传灯录》, a Song-dynasty Chan Buddhist collection. A monk asks 'What is the one undifferentiated matter?' - the master answers 千差万别 ('a thousand differences, ten thousand distinctions'), the Chan paradox being that 'oneness' manifests as infinite variety.

Stroke Order

qiān
chà
wàn
bié