千万
be sure to … / whatever you do, don’t …
Structure
千万 + 要／别／不要 + 动词
What it means
千万 turns a warning or reminder up to full volume: “be sure to…”, or with 别 “whatever you do, don’t…”. Literally 千 (thousand) + 万 (ten thousand), ten million.
How it is built
千万 + 要／别／不要 + verb: 过马路的时候千万要小心 (be really careful when you cross the road). 这件事千万别告诉他 (whatever you do, don’t tell him about this).
When to use it
Use it to urge someone, often about safety, health or a secret: 还发烧的话，千万不要等. It pairs mostly with 别 or 不要, and with 要 for “make sure”. For a plain “must”, 一定要 is enough.
Watch out
千万 urges; it doesn’t describe what happened: ✗ 我千万去了医院。 ✓ 你千万要去医院！ It goes before 别／要: ✗ 别千万告诉他 ✓ 千万别告诉他.
Examples
过马路的时候千万要小心。
Be really careful when you cross the road.
这件事千万别告诉他。
Whatever you do, don’t tell him about this.
还发烧的话，千万不要等，要及时去医院。
If you still have a fever, don’t wait: get to hospital straight away.
Learn this in HSK 3 · Lesson 8: 发烧了 (Fever)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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