不远万里
bù yuǎn wàn lǐ
to make light of a long journey; to come all the way
Character by character
不bù
not
not
远yuǎn
count far
count far
万wàn
ten thousand
ten thousand
里lǐ
li
li
Example
他不远万里来到中国，就是为了学中医。
He came all the way to China for no other reason than to study Chinese medicine.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
远 is a verb here: not to count ten thousand li as far. Usually followed by 来到, 赶来 or 前来, and said with admiration of someone who travels a great distance for a cause; it echoes Mencius’s 不远千里而来.
Learn this in Lesson 247 · HSK 9+: 利玛窦与徐光启 (Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi)
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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