千挑万选
qiān tiāo wàn xuǎn
to pick with great care from a large number
Character by character
千qiān
thousand
thousand
挑tiāo
pick
pick
万wàn
ten thousand
ten thousand
选xuǎn
choose
choose
Example
她千挑万选，才买到一件满意的婚纱。
She looked at dozens of wedding dresses before she bought one she was happy with.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Stresses both the care and the size of the field: 经过千挑万选, 千挑万选出来的人才. 精挑细选 is a close synonym; for one person picked from vast numbers, 万里挑一 (lesson 3-13) is stronger.
Learn this in Lesson 180 · HSK 7–9: 毕业生的两条路 (Graduates at the crossroads)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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