background texture

成群结队

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: chéng qún jié duì
  • English Translation: In large groups (in droves)
  • Idiom Composition: 「成」(To form or become)+「群」(A group, crowd, or flock)+「结」(To tie, form, or join together)+「队」(A team, rank, or line)
  • Meaning: Describes a large number of people or animals gathering together to form groups or ranks. It implies moving or acting as a collective unit rather than as individuals.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「成群结队」 contains the following nuances:

  • Emphasis on Collective Action: The idiom emphasizes that the subjects are not scattered individuals, but are moving as a cohesive flow or mass. As the characters 群 (qún) and 队 (duì) suggest, it implies a certain level of organization or collective direction rather than chaotic crowding.
  • Broad Application: This phrase is versatile and applies to humans as well as various animals, including birds, fish, and insects.

3. Usage

「成群结队」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Movement of People: Commonly used to describe tourists, students, or spectators moving in large numbers. It is used in both daily conversation and news reporting.
    • Example:「放学后,学生们成群结队地走出校门。」
      (After school, the students walked out of the school gate in large groups.)
  • Animal Behavior: Used to explain the habits of migratory birds, schools of fish, or insects acting as a collective.
    • Example:「秋天到了,大雁成群结队地向南飞去。」
      (In autumn, the wild geese fly south in flocks.)
  • Negative Groups: Can be used critically to describe gangs or troublesome groups 'ganging up' to cause a disturbance.
    • Example:「那些流氓总是成群结队地在街上惹事生非。」
      (Those hoodlums are always ganging up and causing trouble in the streets.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 每到假期,游客们便成群结队地涌向海边。
    (Every holiday, tourists pour toward the seaside in droves.)
  2. 蚂蚁成群结队地搬运食物,准备过冬。
    (Ants are carrying food in long lines to prepare for the winter.)
  3. 不要总是成群结队地聊天,快去工作!
    (Don't just spend all your time huddling together and chatting; get back to work!)
  4. 草原上,牛羊成群结队,景色十分壮观。
    (On the grasslands, cattle and sheep gather in great numbers, making for a spectacular sight.)

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • The phrase appears in historical records such as the *Five Dynasties History Plain Talk* (五代史平话) from the Song Dynasty (宋朝). It originally described sparrows gathering to steal grain, but its usage has since expanded to humans and other animals.
  • While Chinese culture often values the strength of numbers, as seen in the concept of 团结 (tuán jié) or 'unity,' this idiom can sometimes imply a lack of individual purpose or a 'mob' mentality depending on the speaker's tone.
  • Compared to the similar idiom 三五成群 (sān wǔ chéng qún), which describes small scattered groups of 'threes and fives,' 成群结队 (chéng qún jié duì) suggests a much larger and more continuous scale of movement.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

成群结队 (chéng qún jié duì) is used to describe people or animals moving 'in droves' or 'in large groups.' Whether it is tourists flocking to a beach or birds migrating, it emphasizes the collective nature of the movement. While often neutral, it can sometimes carry a nuance of 'ganging up' or being 'crowded' depending on the context.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Pre-Level 1

Idiom Essay

chéng qún jié duì
成群结队
In Large Groups
zài在zhè ge这个shì jiè世界shàng上,hěn很duō多shì qíng事情rú guǒ如果shì是dān dú单独yí gè一个qù去zuò做,huì会xiǎn de显得hěn很ān jìng安静,shèn zhì甚至yǒu diǎn有点gū dān孤单。

In this world, many things seem very quiet or even a bit lonely if done by a single individual.

dàn shì但是,yí dàn一旦shù liàng数量biàn变duō多le了,ér qiě而且dà jiā大家cháo zhe朝着tóng同yí gè一个fāng xiàng方向xíng dòng行动,nà zhǒng那种qì shì气势hé和gǎn jué感觉jiù就huì会wán quán完全bù不yī yàng一样。

However, once the numbers increase and everyone moves in the same direction, the momentum and feeling become completely different.

zhōng wén中文lǐ里,yǒu有yí gè一个chéng yǔ成语zhuān mén专门yòng lái用来xíng róng形容zhè zhǒng这种jǐng xiàng景象,jiào叫“chéng qún jié duì成群结队”。

In Chinese, there is an idiom specifically used to describe this scene called 成群结队.

zhè ge这个cí词de的huà miàn画面gǎn感hěn很qiáng强。

This phrase has a very strong visual sense.

“chéng qún成群”,yì si意思shì是jù jí聚集chéng成le了yī qún一群;“jié duì结队”,yì si意思shì是pái排chéng成le了duì wǔ队伍。

成群 means gathering into a group; 结队 means forming a line or team.

hé qǐ lái合起来,tā它miáo shù描述de的jiù shì就是dà liàng大量de的gè tǐ个体jù jí聚集zài在yì qǐ一起,xiàng像duì wǔ队伍yī yàng一样xíng dòng行动de的yàng zi样子。

Combined, it describes a large number of individuals gathering together and moving like a procession.

zuì最kāi shǐ开始,rén men人们yòng用tā它lái来xíng róng形容dòng wù动物。

Initially, people used it to describe animals.

bǐ rú比如,qiū tiān秋天de的shí hòu时候,nǐ你huì会kàn dào看到tiān kōng天空zhōng中de的dà yàn大雁,bìng并bú shì不是yī zhī一只yī zhī一只luàn乱fēi飞de的,ér shì而是pái排zhe着zhěng qí整齐de的duì xíng队形,jǐ bǎi zhǐ几百只yì qǐ一起xiàng向nán南fēi飞。

For example, in autumn, you will see wild geese in the sky not flying randomly one by one, but in neat formations, hundreds of them flying south together.

huò zhě或者zài在hǎi lǐ海里,wú shù tiáo无数条xiǎo小yú鱼jù zài yì qǐ聚在一起yóu dòng游动,xiàng像yī dǔ一堵qiáng墙yī yàng一样。

Or in the sea, countless small fish swim together like a wall.

zhè zhǒng这种shí hòu时候,gè tǐ个体miǎo xiǎo渺小de的lì liàng力量,yīn wèi因为“chéng qún jié duì成群结队”ér而biàn dé变得zhuàng guān壮观。

In these moments, the tiny power of the individual becomes spectacular because they are 成群结队.

dàn但zài在wǒ men我们de的rì cháng日常shēng huó生活zhōng中,zhè ge这个cí词gèng更duō多shì是yòng lái用来xíng róng形容rén人。

But in our daily lives, this term is more often used to describe people.

tā它wǎng wǎng往往dài带zhe着yī zhǒng一种“rè nào热闹”hé和“liú dòng流动”de的qì xī气息。

It often carries an atmosphere of liveliness and movement.

shì zhe试着xiǎng xiàng想象yī xià一下zhè yàng这样de的chǎng jǐng场景:xué xiào学校lǐ里,xià kè下课líng铃xiǎng响le了。

Try to imagine this scene: at school, the bell rings.

yuán běn原本ān jìng安静de的xiào yuán校园,shùn jiān瞬间fèi téng沸腾qǐ lái起来。

The originally quiet campus instantly boils over.

xué shēng学生men们bèi zhe背着shū bāo书包,sān sān liǎng liǎng三三两两dì地cóng从jiào shì教室lǐ里yǒng chū涌出lái来,xiào笑zhe着、pǎo跑zhe着,zhè这jiù shì就是“chéng qún jié duì成群结队”dì地huí jiā回家。

Students with backpacks pour out of classrooms in small groups, laughing and running; this is going home 成群结队.

huò zhě或者,zài在yí gè一个zhōu mò周末de的jǐng qū景区,yóu kè游客men们“chéng qún jié duì成群结队”dì地pá爬shàng上shān dǐng山顶,qù去děng dài等待rì chū日出。

Or, at a scenic spot on a weekend, tourists climb to the mountaintop 成群结队 to wait for the sunrise.

zài在zhè xiē这些shí hòu时候,nǐ你bú huì不会jué de觉得yōng jǐ拥挤shì是yī zhǒng一种dǎ rǎo打扰。

At these times, you don't feel that the crowd is a disturbance.

xiāng fǎn相反,“chéng qún jié duì成群结队”gěi给rén人yī zhǒng一种ān quán gǎn安全感hé和guī shǔ gǎn归属感。

On the contrary, 成群结队 gives people a sense of security and belonging.

tā它shuō míng说明dà jiā大家yǒu zhe有着gòng tóng共同de的mù biāo目标,huò zhě或者fēn xiǎng分享zhe着tóng同yī zhǒng一种kuài lè快乐。

It shows that everyone has a common goal or is sharing the same joy.

suǒ yǐ所以,zhè ge这个chéng yǔ成语bù jǐn jǐn不仅仅shì是zài在shù数rén tóu人头。

So, this idiom is not just about counting heads.

tā它qí shí其实shì是zài在bǔ zhuō捕捉yī zhǒng一种shè huì xìng社会性de的néng liàng能量。

It is actually capturing a kind of social energy.

tā它gào sù告诉wǒ men我们:suī rán虽然měi gè rén每个人dōu都shì是dú lì独立de的,dàn但rén lèi人类tiān shēng天生jiù就xǐ huān喜欢xún zhǎo寻找tóng bàn同伴。

It tells us: although everyone is independent, humans are naturally inclined to seek companions.

xià cì下次,dāng当nǐ你zài在jiē shàng街上kàn dào看到rén men人们wèi le为了tóng yī gè同一个jié rì节日、huò zhě或者tóng yī chǎng同一场bǐ sài比赛ér而jù jí聚集zài在yì qǐ一起,liǎn脸shàng上dài带zhe着xīng fèn兴奋de的biǎo qíng表情xiàng qián向前zǒu shí走时,nǐ你jiù就kě yǐ可以yòng用dào到zhè ge这个cí词。

Next time, when you see people on the street gathering for the same festival or the same game, walking forward with excited expressions, you can use this word.

yīn wèi因为zài在nà那yī kè一刻,dà jiā大家bù zài不再shì是gū dān孤单de的gè tǐ个体,ér shì而是chéng qún jié duì成群结队de的huǒ bàn伙伴。

Because at that moment, everyone is no longer a lonely individual, but partners who are 成群结队.

'造句' Feature Usage Guide

造句练习📝

Try creating sentences using '成群结队'!

0/50