183. Indefinite numbers are expressed 百 páh, 100; 千 t’síen, 1,000; 萬 man‘, 10,000, with or without 論 lun.
- 論千論萬 lun t’síen lun man‘, thousands and myriads.
- 萬百樣物事 van‘ pah yáng‘ meh zz‘, all things.
- 論千來者 lun t’síen lé ’tsé, many thousands are come.
- 文武百官 vun ’vú pák kwén, all officers civil and military.
- 會醫百病 wé í páh bing‘, can cure all diseases.
- 百花生日 pák hwó sáng nyih, the flowers’ birth-day.
- 萬國九州 van‘ kóh ’kieu tseu, all countries.
184. Numbers enter into many common phrases.
- 三心兩意 san sing ’liáng í‘, vacillating in opinion.
- 三轉九囘頭 san ’tsen ’kieu wé deu, constantly turning back.
- 七橫八豎 t’sih wáng pah ’zû, lying in all directions.
- 三伸四縮 san sun sz‘ soh, timidly advancing and retreating.
- 瞎七瞎八 hah t’sih hah pah, all in confusion.
Obs. Though not commonly occurring in English and other languages, examples similar to these are not wanting; e.g. at sixes and sevens.
185. Examples of some adjectives, extensive in their use and varied in their meaning, are here appended.
- 一 ih, one, whole, immediately upon.
- 獨一無二 tóh ih vú rh‘, there is only one.
- 一切說話 ih t’sih seh wó‘, all he said.
- 一統天下 ih ’t’óng t’íen ’au, the whole empire.
- 一言旣出 ih íen kí‘ t’seh, the words have been said.
- 一定不易 ih ding‘ peh yuh, certainly unchangeable.
- 一念囘頭 ih nian‘ wé deu, sincerely repent.
- 一居一動 ih kü ih ’dóng, all he does.
- 一動就打 ih ’dóng dzieu‘ ’táng, at the least thing, he fights.
- 一走就跌 ih ’tseu dzieu‘ tih, the moment he begins to walk, he falls.
186. 全 dzien, complete, all.
- 勿完全 veh wén dzíen, not complete.
- 人全拉上 niun zén ’lá long‘, they are all there.
- 全關着 zén kwan zah, —they are all connected with—
187. 大 tá‘, great, very.