千军万马

qiān jūn wàn mǎ

a vast army; an immense force

Character by character

千qiān
thousand

军jūn
armies

万wàn
ten thousand

马mǎ
horses

人们常说，高考是千军万马过独木桥。

People often say the gaokao is a vast army crossing a single-plank bridge.

Tone: neutral.

千军万马过独木桥 is the standard image for the exam.

Learn this in Lesson 7 · HSK 5: 高考 (The college entrance exam)

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.