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罕见 (hǎn jiàn) — rare; rarely seen

Definition

A formal/written adjective for things rarely seen, often because they no longer exist (diseases, artifacts, phenomena). Closer to 稀有 ('uncommon, scarce') than to 少见 ('not often seen'); more neutral than 珍稀 ('rare and precious').

adjective
rarerarely seen

Examples

  • 罕见。
    Zhè zhǒng jí bìng zài nián qīng rén zhōng fēi cháng hǎn jiàn.
    This disease is very rare among young people.
  • 罕见。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ zhǎn chū le yì xiē hǎn jiàn de lì shǐ wén wù.
    The museum displayed some rare historical artifacts.
  • 罕见，。
    Zhè zhǒng zì rán xiàn xiàng shí fēn hǎn jiàn, jǐ shí nián cái chū xiàn yí cì.
    This natural phenomenon is extremely rare, appearing only once every few decades.

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.

罕hǎnrarely
见jiànseen

罕 means rarely and 见 means seen, together meaning seldom seen.

Characters in this word

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
网网wǎngnet
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān罕hǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

罕 combines 网 (net) as a meaning part with 干 as a sound part.

Open 罕 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6

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