千军万马

千軍萬馬

qiānjūn-wànmǎ

idiom HSK 7 #61,922

Meanings

1 a vast army; a mighty force
2 an overwhelming number of people

Characters

Literally 'a thousand troops and ten thousand horses' — an image of an enormous army stretching as far as the eye can see.

Examples

高考就像千军万马过独木桥。

Gāokǎo jiù xiàng qiānjūn-wànmǎ guò dúmùqiáo.

The gaokao is like a vast army trying to cross a single-log bridge.

他一个人顶得上千军万马。

Tā yí ge rén dǐng de shàng qiānjūn-wànmǎ.

He alone is worth a whole army.

Tips

culture

千军万马过独木桥 (a vast army crossing a single-log bridge) is THE metaphor for the 高考 (gāokǎo, national college entrance exam). Millions of students compete for limited university spots — literally a massive army funneling through a tiny bottleneck.

Stroke Order

千 qiān

军 jūn

万 wàn

马 mǎ