少见

shǎojiàn

rare; seldom seen

HSK 4

Character Breakdown

Usage of 少见

The adjective 少见 (shǎojiàn) means "rarely seen" or "uncommon." It is often used to describe things, events, or phenomena that are not frequently encountered in daily life.

Common Contexts

少见 is frequently used with nouns like birds, styles, situations, or objects to emphasize their rarity. For example, "少见" (rare bird) or "少见风格" (uncommon style).

Collocations and Patterns

Nuances

Using 少见 implies that encountering the subject is unusual but possible. It often carries a neutral or slightly positive tone, especially when describing unique or special qualities.

Common Confusions

Don't confuse 少见 with 罕见, which also means "rare" but is more formal and often used in scientific or official contexts. 少见 is more common in everyday speech.

Example Sentences

这种鸟在城市里很少见。

Zhè zhǒng niǎo zài chéngshì lǐ hěn shǎojiàn.

This kind of bird is rarely seen in the city.

他的作品风格很少见,独具特色。

Tā de zuòpǐn fēnggé hěn shǎojiàn, dú jù tèsè.

His style of work is rare and unique.

这种情况在生活中少见,但并非不可能。

Zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng zài shēnghuó zhōng shǎojiàn, dàn bìngfēi bù kěnéng.

This kind of situation is uncommon in life, but not impossible.