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为数不多 (wéi shù bù duō) — to be few in number; only a small number

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'few in number' — used predicatively (在为数不多的专家中…) or attributively (为数不多的几位专家). Pinyin is wéi, not wèi.

verb
to be few in numberonly a small number

Examples

  • 为数不多。
    Xiàng tā zhè yàng de rén cái wéi shù bù duō.
    Talents like him are few in number.
  • 为数不多。
    Cān jiā zhè cì huó dòng de zhì yuàn zhě wéi shù bù duō.
    The volunteers who participated in this event are few.
  • 为数不多。
    wéi shù bù duō De jǐ wèi zhuān jiā chū xí le huì yì.
    The few experts attended the meeting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

为数the number
为wèibe数shùnumber
动宾Verb + object
不多not many
不bùnot多duōmany
偏正Modifier + head

为数 (the number) and 不多 (not many) combine to say only a small quantity exists.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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 數; 数 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu數shù(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 數 pairs 攴, the meaning part, with 婁, the sound part; the simplified 数 is a shorthand.

Open 数 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

Open 多 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

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