大千世界

dàqiān-shìjiè
idiom #35,536

Meanings

  1. 1 the vast universe of phenomena
  2. 2 the wide, endlessly varied world
  3. 3 the great chiliocosm

Examples

HSK 6
Dàqiān-shìjiè, gèzhǒng-gèyàng de rén dōu yǒu.
In this vast world, there are people of every kind.
HSK 7-9
Dàqiān-shìjiè, wúqíbùyǒu.
In this vast world, nothing is too strange to exist.
HSK 7-9
Lǚxíng ràng wǒ jiànshi dào le dàqiān-shìjiè de jīngcǎi.
Traveling let me glimpse the wonders of the wide world.

Tips

culture
Originally Buddhist cosmology: 1,000 'small worlds' form a 小千世界, 1,000 of those form a 中千世界, and 1,000 of those form a 大千世界 - hence the Chinese term 三千大千世界. Now used secularly to mean simply 'the wide, varied world.'
usage
Almost always paired with an observation about variety or strangeness. Classic collocation: 大千世界无奇不有 ('in this wide world, nothing is too weird to exist').

Stroke Order

qiān
shì
jiè