希 xī — rare; infrequent
老师对我们寄予了很大的希望。Lǎo shī duì wǒ men jì yǔ le hěn dà de xī wàng.The teacher placed great hopes on us.
Common words: 希望 (xī wàng)、几希 (jī xī)、有希望 (yǒu xī wàng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "rare"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "rare", including 希 (xī), 鲜 (xiān / xiǎn), 罕 (hǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "rare" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 希 (xī), 鲜 (xiān / xiǎn), 罕 (hǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xī, xiān, xiǎn, hǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 希 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 希 xīrare; infrequentUseful words: 希望, 几希
- 鲜 xiān / xiǎnfresh; few; rareUseful words: 新鲜, 鲜花
- 罕 hǎnrareUseful words: 罕见, 稀罕
Common words for these 3 "rare" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 希 (xī) — so "rare" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
希望xī wàngto hope; a hope; a wish几希jī xīnot much; very little (e.g. difference)有希望yǒu xī wànghopeful; promising; prospective新鲜xīn xiānfresh (experience, food etc); freshness; novel; uncommon鲜花xiān huāflower; fresh flowers海鲜hǎi xiānseafood罕见hǎn jiànrare; rarely seen稀罕xī hanrare; uncommon; rare thing; rarity罕有hǎn yǒuto rarely have; rare
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "rare".
鲜 xiān / xiǎn — fresh; few; rare
市场上的蔬菜很新鲜。Shì chǎng shàng de shū cài hěn xīn xiān.The vegetables at the market are very fresh.
Common words: 新鲜 (xīn xiān)、鲜花 (xiān huā)、海鲜 (hǎi xiān)
罕 hǎn — rare
这种动物十分罕见，已经濒临灭绝。Zhè zhǒng dòng wù shí fēn hǎn jiàn, yǐ jīng bīn lín miè jué.This kind of animal is very rare and on the brink of extinction.
Common words: 罕见 (hǎn jiàn)、稀罕 (xī han)、罕有 (hǎn yǒu)
All 3 characters
Open 希、鲜、罕 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.