By the thousands (成千上万)

Structure 成千上万 / 成百上千 + (的) + noun

成千上万 (chéngqiān-shàngwàn, lit. "making thousands, rising to tens of thousands") is an emphatic quantity idiom: "by the thousands, in their thousands, a multitude". 成千上万的人涌上街头 = "people poured into the streets by the thousands". Its sibling 成百上千 (chéngbǎi-shàngqiān) is one notch lower, "by the hundreds". It gives no figure; it stresses how overwhelming the number is. It usually precedes the noun with 的 and is written or elevated journalistic register.

Examples

成chéng千qiān上shàng万wàn的de人rén涌yǒng上shàng街jiē头tóu庆qìng祝zhù。
People poured into the streets by the thousands to celebrate.
每měi年nián有yǒu成chéng千qiān上shàng万wàn的de候hòu鸟niǎo在zài此cǐ停tíng留liú。
Every year migratory birds stop here by the thousands.
这zhè场chǎng灾zāi难nàn夺duó去qù了le成chéng千qiān上shàng万wàn人rén的de生shēng命mìng。
That disaster claimed the lives of thousands upon thousands.
展zhǎn会huì上shàng摆bǎi放fàng着zhe成chéng百bǎi上shàng千qiān件jiàn展zhǎn品pǐn。
The fair displayed exhibits by the hundreds.

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