星罗棋布
xīng luó qí bù
scattered all over, like stars in the sky or pieces on a chessboard
Character by character
星xīng
stars
stars
罗luó
spread out
spread out
棋qí
chess
chess
布bù
laid out
laid out
Example
江南水乡河道纵横，大大小小的湖泊星罗棋布。
In the water country south of the Yangtze, waterways criss-cross the land and lakes large and small are dotted everywhere.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Of many things spread over a wide area: lakes, islands, villages, shops (便利店在城里星罗棋布). Neutral and descriptive, common in geography and travel writing; for things packed close together, use 密密麻麻 instead.
Learn this in Lesson 178 · HSK 7–9: 中国天眼 (China’s Sky Eye)
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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