寥寥 (liáo liáo) — very few, scanty, sparse

Definizione

寥寥 is a bound adverbial form that only appears in set phrases (寥寥无几, 寥寥数语) to emphasize how few or sparse something is — not used alone.

bound form

very fewscantysparse

，。
Huì chǎng lǐ liáo liáo wú jǐ, zhǐ yǒu shí jǐ gè rén.
There were very few people in the venue — only a dozen or so.
寥寥。
Tā zhǐ yòng liáo liáo shù yǔ jiù jiě shì qīng chǔ le.
He explained it clearly with just a few brief words.
寥寥，。
Shā mò zhōng liáo liáo jǐ kē kū shù, xiǎn de gé wài huāng liáng.
A few withered trees in the desert looked especially desolate.