千

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 千 (qiān) for "thousand" is composed of two parts: the radical 戈 (gē) and the phonetic component 寸 (cùn). The radical 戈 originally depicted a weapon resembling a spear or halberd, and it is often used in characters related to warfare or weapons. In the case of 千, the radical 戈 is used to indicate that the character is related to numbers or counting.The phonetic component 寸 originally depicted a thumb, and it is often used in characters related to measurement or size. In the case of 千, the phonetic component 寸 is used to indicate the pronunciation of the character.The combination of the radical 戈 and the phonetic component 寸 creates the character 千, which means "thousand". The character 千 is first attested in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing, dating back to the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). The character has remained largely unchanged in its form and meaning throughout the history of Chinese writing.In modern Chinese, the character 千 is used to represent the number one thousand. It is also used in various compound words and phrases, such as 千里 (qiānlǐ, "a thousand li") and 千载难逢 (qiānzǎinánféng, "a rare opportunity that comes once in a thousand years").