# people mountain people sea

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/people-mountain-people-sea
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

crowded or jam-packed with people

## Examples

- The city center is people mountain people sea today.
- We could hardly walk through the festival because it was people mountain people sea.
- Upon arriving at the popular tourist destination, we found the plaza was people mountain people sea, leaving us no choice but to seek a quieter path.

## Origin

A direct calque of the Chinese idiom 人山人海 (rénshānrénhǎi). The expression entered English as a literal rendering of the individual characters for people, mountain, and sea to describe a vast multitude.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.