千呼万唤
qiān hū wàn huàn
after endless calling; long-awaited (千呼万唤始出来)
Character by character
千qiān
thousand
thousand
呼hū
calls
calls
万wàn
ten thousand
ten thousand
唤huàn
summons
summons
Example
这部续集拍了五年，可谓千呼万唤始出来。
The sequel took five years to make; it was a long time coming.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From 白居易’s 《琵琶行》: the lute player came out only after a thousand calls (千呼万唤始出来). Now said of a film, product or policy that people waited a long time for, often with a gentle tease.
Learn this in Lesson 67 · HSK 6: 《黑神话：悟空》 (Black Myth: Wukong and the games industry)
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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