Level 5 · Advanced
Whatever you do: 千万
千万 + 别 / 不要 / 要 + Verb · Traditional: 千萬 + 別 / 不要 / 要 + Verb
千万 (qiānwàn) — literally "ten million" — turns a command into an urgent plea: 千万别告诉他 "whatever you do, don't tell him." The number paints the stakes: out of ten million chances, don't blow this one.
It only works when urging someone else (or yourself, in second person). For your own promises, use 一定: 我一定会记得 "I will definitely remember."
Examples
这件事你千万别告诉他。
這件事你千萬別告訴他。
zhè jiàn shì nǐ qiān wàn bié gào sù tā
Whatever you do, don't tell him about this.
过马路的时候，千万要小心。
過馬路的時候，千萬要小心。
guò mǎ lù de shí hou qiān wàn yào xiǎo xīn
Be extra careful crossing the street.
千万不要忘了带护照。
千萬不要忘了帶護照。
qiān wàn bù yào wàng le dài hù zhào
Do not, under any circumstances, forget your passport.
这种药千万不能多吃。
這種藥千萬不能多吃。
zhè zhǒng yào qiān wàn bù néng duō chī
You absolutely must not take too much of this medicine.
Common mistakes
✗ 我千万会记得的。
✓ 我一定会记得的。
千万 urges someone else. For your own promises, use 一定.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like The Viewing (Part 3), Moving Day (Part 6) inside the Literate Chinese app.
