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凤毛麟角 (fèng máo-lín jiǎo) — extremely rare; few and far between (idiom)

Definition

Idiom meaning something is vanishingly rare — people or things almost never seen. Stronger than 难得一见 (just 'rarely seen'); 难能可贵 emphasizes that something is admirable, not merely scarce.

phrase
extremely rarefew and far between (idiom)

Examples

  • 凤毛麟角。
    Zhè zhǒng gǔ dǒng zài shì chǎng shàng fèng máo-lín jiǎo.
    This kind of antique is rare on the market.
  • 凤毛麟角。
    Xiàng tā zhè yàng yǒu cái huá de nián qīng rén zhēn shì fèng máo-lín jiǎo.
    Young people with talent like his are truly few and far between.
  • 凤毛麟角，。
    Zhè zhǒng jī huì fèng máo-lín jiǎo, nǐ yí dìng yào zhuā zhù.
    Such opportunities are rare; you must seize it.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳳; 凤 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳳 pictures a bird with a prominent crest and tail feathers, likely a real peacock. The simplified 凤 is a later abbreviation.

Open 凤 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

Open 毛 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鹿鹿lùdeer
Sound part声符shēngfú
粦
粦lín麟lín
Same sound today

麟 combines 鹿, a deer, with 粦, a part that gives its sound.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Open 角 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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