Definition
This is a four-character idiom (chengyu) that paints a vivid picture of 'a thousand heads and ten thousand threads' — a tangled mess of loose ends. You use it to describe a situation that has so many interconnected issues, tasks, or details that it feels overwhelmingly complicated. It often implies that careful and patient sorting is needed, not a quick fix.
f.e.
a multitude of loose endsextremely complicated and confusing
Examples
- 千头万绪，。Zhège xiàngmù qiān tóu wàn xù, xūyào mànmàn lái.This project is extremely complicated with many loose ends; we need to take it slowly.
- ，千头万绪，。Gāng dào gōngsī de shíhou, qiān tóu wàn xù, wǒ gēnběn bù zhīdào cóng nǎlǐ kāishǐ.When I first arrived at the company, there were so many complicated tasks that I had no idea where to start.
- 千头万绪，。Miànduì qiān tóu wàn xù de júmiàn, tā yí bù yí bù shūlǐ qīngchu.Facing an extremely complicated situation, he sorted it out step by step.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.