About
The character 稀, which primarily conveys the meaning of scarcity or sparseness, is structured as a phono-semantic compound, combining the radical 禾, indicating grain or crops, with 希 serving as its phonetic component. This construction suggests an original meaning related to the visual spacing and infrequency of seedlings in a field. Over time, this concrete agricultural concept broadened into a more abstract and general expression for anything rare, diluted, or thinly distributed. While the character’s form has remained stable, its semantic range expanded to describe states of thinness, as in a dilute substance, or the uncommon nature of an event or object, maintaining its core conceptual link to insufficiency and wide separation.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这碗稀饭很热。
这里人口稀少。
熊猫是稀有动物。
他的头发很稀疏。
用水稀释这杯果汁。
高山上的空气很稀薄。
他不稀罕那些礼物。
这种矿物在地壳中含量稀少。