难觅 (nán mì) — hard to find, rare, elusive

Definition

Literary written-form verb meaning 'hard to find' — sounds more formal than everyday 难找 (nán zhǎo). Used in idiomatic phrases like 知音难觅 rather than daily speech.

verb
hard to findrareelusive

Examples

  • 难觅。
    Zhè zhǒng zhēn xī dòng wù zài yě wài yǐ jīng nán mì.
    This rare animal is already hard to find in the wild.
  • 难觅，。
    Zhī yīn nán mì, tā gǎn dào hěn gū dú.
    A true friend is hard to find; he feels very lonely.
  • ，难觅。
    Zài zhè ge chéng shì, tíng chē wèi nán mì.
    In this city, parking spots are hard to find.

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.

难nándifficult
觅mìseek

难 makes 觅 difficult, so something is elusive.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覓; 觅 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 覓 combines 爪 (hand) and 見 (to see); the simplified 觅 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觅 →

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