大量
dàliàng · HSK 2
a great many
📚 大量 = big (大) + quantity (量); a large amount
大 means big/large and 量 means quantity or measure. Together 大量 literally reads as large-quantity, used for any great number or abundant amount of something.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).