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少有 (shǎo yǒu) — rare, scarce, uncommon

Definition

少有 means 'rare, seldom found' — a formal, written-style adjective stronger than 少见. Used to describe things (opportunities, talents, books) that are hard to come by, often paired with 实在, 确实.

adjective
rarescarceuncommon

Examples

  • 少有，。
    Zhè zhǒng jī huì shí zài shǎo yǒu, nǐ yào hǎo hǎo bǎ wò.
    Such an opportunity is truly rare; you should seize it well.
  • ，少有。
    Xiàng tā zhè yàng yǒu cái huá yòu qiān xū de rén, què shí shǎo yǒu.
    People like him who are both talented and modest are indeed rare.
  • 少有，。
    Zhè zhǒng gǔ shū xiàn zài fēi cháng shǎo yǒu, jià zhí lián chéng.
    This kind of ancient book is now extremely rare, worth a fortune.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

少shǎorarely
有yǒuexist

少 (rarely) and 有 (exist) combine to mean something rarely found.

Characters in this word

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

The form 少 is drawn as four dots, perhaps three grains of sand, to indicate a few or a little.

Open 少 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →
Appears in
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