人山人海rén shān rén hǎimultitude; vast crowd

1. 1.

   multitude; vast crowdidiom

Figurative meaning

Multitude; vast crowd.

Literal meaning

People mountain, people sea.

• 人person
• 山mountain
• 人person
• 海sea

No attested origin story

人山人海 often comes after a place, such as 公园里 or 车站里, to describe how crowded it is.

1. HSK 3

   周末公园里人山人海。

   Zhōumò gōngyuán li rén shān rén hǎi.

   The park is packed with people at the weekend.

2. HSK 3

   节日的时候，车站里人山人海。

   Jiérì de shíhou, chēzhàn li rén shān rén hǎi.

   During the holidays, the station is packed with people.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   我们周末去公园吧。

   Wǒmen zhōumò qù gōngyuán ba.

   Let's go to the park at the weekend.

2. 
   Speaker B:

   周末公园里人山人海。

   Zhōumò gōngyuán li rén shān rén hǎi.

   The park is packed with people at the weekend.

3. 
   Speaker A:

   那我们早上早点儿去吧。

   Nà wǒmen zǎoshang zǎo diǎnr qù ba.

   Then let's go early in the morning.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   好，早上人会少一点。

   Hǎo, zǎoshang rén huì shǎo yìdiǎn.

   OK, there will be fewer people in the morning.

1. 1.What does 人山人海 mean?

   AA vast crowdBA quiet mountain villageCA long sea journey
2. 2.Which sentence uses 人山人海 correctly?

   A周末公园里人山人海。B他一个人山人海地走了。C这个箱子很人山人海。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 节日的时候，车站里____。 (During the holidays, the station is packed with people.)

   A人山人海B全力以赴C小心翼翼

• Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
• HSK 6 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
• HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.

Related idioms

• 深入人心shēn rù rén xīnto enter deeply into people's heartsHSK 7–9
• 杞人忧天qǐ rén yōu tiānto entertain groundless fearsNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 盲人摸象máng rén mō xiàngunable to see the big pictureNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 一模一样yì mú yí yàngexactly alike; identicalHSK 6
• 众所周知zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī(idiom) as everyone knowsHSK 6
• 千家万户qiān jiā wàn hùevery family (idiom)HSK 6

Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.