万万 (wànwàn): absolutely (in negative sentenc…

Meanings

1 absolutely (in negative sentences)
2 by all means (not); under no circumstances

Characters

万

wàn

ten thousand

Literally 'ten thousand ten thousand' - an emphatic doubling that intensifies to mean 'absolutely' or 'by all means.'

Examples

你万万不能告诉他。

Nǐ wànwàn bùnéng gàosu tā.

You absolutely must not tell him.

我万万没想到会是这样。

Wǒ wànwàn méixiǎngdào huì shì zhèyàng.

I never in a million years expected it to turn out like this.

这件事万万不可大意。

Zhè jiàn shì wànwàn bùkě dàyì.

You absolutely cannot be careless about this.

Tips

grammar

万万 is almost exclusively used in negative sentences: 万万不能, 万万没想到, 万万不可. You wouldn't say 万万可以. The phrase 万万没想到 ('absolutely never expected') became a viral catchphrase thanks to a hugely popular Chinese comedy web series of the same name.