<p>In this case it is being used figuratively, mainly to describe a countless amount.  In more daily life scenarios smaller numbers like 萬 can be used figuratively for countless as well.</p>
<p>In this specific scenario, it is actually realistic for the universe to have tens of hundreds of thousands of planets. I believe this is why the author used such a large number for this figurative purpose.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-16T22:20:19.560Z
2022-12-16T22:20:19.560Z
zagrycha
<p>I agree, no specific number is actually meant, just &quot;an incredibly large number&quot; and that's just our galaxy, one of 千百亿的星系。</p>
<p>星球 would be stars I believe. (not an astrophysicist)</p>
<p>Funny, in the old days, 万事 as in 万事如意 meant &quot;everything&quot; 10 000 seemed impossibly large.</p>
<p>Now 千百亿 isn't unimaginable, see it in China's economic news every day!</p>
<p>(On a side note: You know those sweet, coloured cake decorations called &quot;hundreds and thousands&quot;? I wonder if they are called &quot;thousands and hundreds&quot; in Chinese??)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-17T03:40:31.523Z
星球 is planet(s) usually.  P.S. As an american I'd never heard hundreds and thousands, I had to look it up.  Sprinkles etc. aren't too common in chinese food so terminology varies but 糖粒 is probably accurate here.
zagrycha
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-17T01:02:09.000Z
2022-12-17T01:02:09.000Z
Pedroski
<p>What happens is that I have been reading a Chinese novel. It mentions that the galaxy contains 346 million planets approximately, however, the author later mentions that there are &quot;<strong>千百亿</strong>的星球&quot; (&quot;Hundreds of billions of planets&quot; translated into English) of planets in just one part of the said Galaxy.  I understand that there are Chinese characters that have a literal and a figurative meaning. I wanted to know if this term &quot;千百亿&quot; could still be used as &quot;A large number&quot; instead of literally &quot;Hundreds of billions&quot; (In order to maintain consistency in author's statements). The use of this term (千百亿) is repeated on 2 or 3 other occasions in a similar context.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-16T17:04:15.287Z
Yes, the number is only to indicate the largeness of the universe system, it is not required to spell out the exact number, you can use a descriptive term to deliver the meaning - 數不盡的, 大量的, 眾多的....
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-17T01:40:56.300Z
Same as 万岁,万岁,万万岁 when addressing the Chinese emperors, wishing him a long, long life, which sounds more majestic than the Western "Long Live the King / Queen" Maybe the ancient Chinese were better at math. :)
Wayne Cheah
<literary-chinese>
千百亿 Is it literal or just a figurative form of a "Very Large Number"
# 千百亿 Is it literal or just a figurative form of a "Very Large Number"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-12-16)

What happens is that I have been reading a Chinese novel. It mentions that the galaxy contains 346 million planets approximately, however, the author later mentions that there are "**千百亿**的星球" ("Hundreds of billions of planets" translated into English) of planets in just one part of the said Galaxy. I understand that there are Chinese characters that have a literal and a figurative meaning. I wanted to know if this term "千百亿" could still be used as "A large number" instead of literally "Hundreds of billions" (In order to maintain consistency in author's statements). The use of this term (千百亿) is repeated on 2 or 3 other occasions in a similar context.

**Tags:** literary-chinese

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Yes, the number is only to indicate the largeness of the universe system, it is not required to spell out the exact number, you can use a descriptive term to deliver the meaning - 數不盡的, 大量的, 眾多的....  
> **username_2**: Same as 万岁,万岁,万万岁 when addressing the Chinese emperors, wishing him a long, long life, which sounds more majestic than the Western "Long Live the King / Queen" Maybe the ancient Chinese were better at math. :)  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-12-16. Score: 2

In this case it is being used figuratively, mainly to describe a countless amount. In more daily life scenarios smaller numbers like 萬 can be used figuratively for countless as well.

In this specific scenario, it is actually realistic for the universe to have tens of hundreds of thousands of planets. I believe this is why the author used such a large number for this figurative purpose.


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### Answer by username_4 on 2022-12-17. Score: 0

I agree, no specific number is actually meant, just "an incredibly large number" and that's just our galaxy, one of 千百亿的星系。

星球 would be stars I believe. (not an astrophysicist)

Funny, in the old days, 万事 as in 万事如意 meant "everything" 10 000 seemed impossibly large.

Now 千百亿 isn't unimaginable, see it in China's economic news every day!

(On a side note: You know those sweet, coloured cake decorations called "hundreds and thousands"? I wonder if they are called "thousands and hundreds" in Chinese??)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: 星球 is planet(s) usually.  P.S. As an american I'd never heard hundreds and thousands, I had to look it up.  Sprinkles etc. aren't too common in chinese food so terminology varies but 糖粒 is probably accurate here.  

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