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难得一见 (nán dé yí jiàn) — rarely seen; seldom encountered; hard to come by

Definition

An adjective phrase meaning 'rarely seen / hard to come by', emphasizing both rarity and value. Stronger and more emphatic than 难得 (just 'rare'), and more concrete than 成语 like 凤毛麟角 or 难能可贵 which are purely idiomatic.

phrase
rarely seenseldom encounteredhard to come by

Examples

  • 难得一见。
    Zhè zhǒng zhēn guì de zhí wù zài yě wài nán dé yí jiàn.
    This precious plant is rarely seen in the wild.
  • ，难得一见。
    Tā de biǎo yǎn fēng gé dú tè, zài dāng jīn wǔ tái shàng nán dé yí jiàn.
    His performance style is unique and rarely seen on today's stage.
  • 难得一见，。
    Zhè yàng de jī huì zhēn shì nán dé yí jiàn, nǐ yí dìng yào zhuā zhù.
    Such an opportunity is truly rare; you must seize it.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 7-9Frequency & DurationIdioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.