鲜有 (xiǎn yǒu) — rarely have; to be rare (formal, literary)

Definition

A formal/literary phrase meaning 'rarely have' or 'to be rare'. Used in writing to emphasize scarcity, stronger than the colloquial 很少.

verb
rarely haveto be rare (formal, literary)

Examples

  • 鲜有。
    Zhè zhǒng xiàn xiàng zài lì shǐ shàng xiǎn yǒu chū xiàn.
    This kind of phenomenon rarely occurred in history.
  • 鲜有。
    Néng wán chéng rú cǐ jiān jù rèn wu de rén xiǎn yǒu.
    Few people can accomplish such a difficult task.
  • 鲜有。
    Tā de zuò pǐn zhōng xiǎn yǒu shǐ yòng huá lì de cí zǎo.
    His works rarely use ornate language.

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.

鲜xiānrare/seldom
有yǒuhave

鲜 means 'rare/seldom' and 有 means 'have', so the word means 'rarely have'.

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 鮮; 鲜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
魚魚yúfish
Sound part声符shēngfú
羴
羴shān鮮xiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鮮 pairs 魚 (fish) with 羴, which gives the sound; this note is about 鮮, not 鲜.

Open 鲜 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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