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寥寥无几 (liáo liáo wú jǐ) — very few; hardly any; a tiny number (idiom)

Definition

Idiom meaning 'scarcely any' — stronger and more literary than 很少, used in writing to emphasize how small the number is.

phrase
very fewhardly anya tiny number (idiom)

Examples

  • 寥寥无几。
    Cān jiā bǐ sài de rén liáo liáo wú jǐ.
    Very few people participated in the competition.
  • 寥寥无几。
    Zhè zhǒng zhēn xī dòng wù zài quán guó yě liáo liáo wú jǐ.
    This rare animal is scarce across the whole country.
  • 寥寥无几。
    Néng zhēn zhèng lǐ jiě zhè ge wèn tí de rén liáo liáo wú jǐ.
    There are very few people who truly understand this issue.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 幾; 几 is its simplified writing.

  • 𢆶𢆶𢆶silk threads; little things
  • 戍戍shùto guard against

The traditional form 幾 puts 𢆶 (silk threads; little things) and 戍 (to guard against) together to show watching over the fine details; the simplified 几 is a later abbreviation.

Open 几 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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