稀奇 (xī qí) — rare and uncommon; strange and curious | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

稀奇 describes things that are rare to encounter AND seem curious or odd. Contrast with 稀有 (purely scarce, no 'strange' sense) and 离奇 (bizarre, implies something hard to believe).

adjective

rare and uncommonstrange and curious

Examples

稀奇，。
Zhè zhǒng zhí wù fēi cháng xī qí, quán shì jiè zhǐ yǒu jǐ shí kē.
This kind of plant is very rare; there are only a few dozen in the whole world.
稀奇，。
Tā shōu cáng le hěn duō xī qí de gǔ dǒng, jiàn jiàn dōu jià zhí lián chéng.
He collects many rare antiques, each worth a fortune.
稀奇，。
Zhè ge gù shi tīng qǐ lái hěn xī qí, dàn wǒ xiāng xìn shì zhēn de.
This story sounds very strange, but I believe it's true.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

奇qístrange

稀 suggests rarity and 奇 suggests strangeness; together they mean rare and curious.

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.

禾希稀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

希

Same sound today

稀 has 禾 (grain) beside 希, and 希 gives the character its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

大可奇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

大大dàbig; great

Sound part声符shēngfú

可

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Good & Bad

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