千万 - Expressing "to make certain"

HSK 4

千万 (qiānwàn) might look like it’s talking about numbers ("a thousand ten thousand" maybe?), but it actually means "to make sure" or "absolutely." You’ll often see it used in the negative, but it works in the positive, too. It really gives your sentence a bit of extra oomph!

Typically, 千万 comes at the beginning of a command and is often paired with words like 要, 不能, or 别. You can use 千万 to strongly tell someone either to do something or not to do something—depending on the situation!

Sample Sentences

千万不要忘记带钥匙！Make sure you don’t forget to bring your keys!

你千万要小心，外面路很滑。Be extra careful, the roads are slippery outside.

这次机会很好，千万不要错过！This is a great opportunity, make sure you don’t miss it!

In a Text

今天出门前，妈妈一直叮嘱我：“千万别忘记带雨伞！天气预报说今天会下雨。”我点点头，收拾好东西准备出门。刚走到门口，手机响了，是朋友打来的。他提醒我：“路上很滑，你千万要小心，别着急！”我答应他会注意安全。

到了公司，老板正在开会。他很严肃地对我们说：“这个项目非常重要，千万不能出错，所有细节都要仔细检查。”大家都认真听着，谁也不敢马虎。开完会后，同事悄悄告诉我：“千万别告诉别人，老板可能要提拔你了！”

下班后，我打算和朋友去吃饭。朋友笑着说：“今天的新餐厅很好吃，千万不要错过！我们一定要去试试。”吃完饭后，我突然想起明天有个重要的会议，千万记得提前准备，不然可就来不及了！

• 叮嘱 (dīngzhǔ): to urge, to repeatedly remind or advise

• 严肃 (yánsù): serious, solemn

• 细节 (xìjié): detail, specifics

• 悄悄 (qiāoqiāo): quietly, secretly, stealthily

• 提拔 (tíbá): to promote, to raise someone to a higher position

Before I left the house today, my mom kept reminding me, "Don’t forget to bring an umbrella! The weather forecast says it will rain today." I nodded, packed my things, and got ready to go. Just as I reached the door, my phone rang—it was my friend calling. He reminded me, "The roads are slippery, make sure to be careful, and don’t rush!" I promised him I’d be cautious.

When I got to the office, the boss was having a meeting. He spoke very seriously, "This project is extremely important, there can be no mistakes, every detail needs to be checked carefully." Everyone listened attentively, and no one dared to be careless. After the meeting, a colleague quietly told me, "Don’t tell anyone, but the boss might be promoting you!"

After work, I planned to go have dinner with a friend. My friend smiled and said, "The new restaurant is really good, don’t miss out! We absolutely have to try it." After dinner, I suddenly remembered that there’s an important meeting tomorrow, "Make sure to prepare in advance, otherwise it’ll be too late!"