How to say "rare" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 珍しいめずらしいi-adjectiveCovers 'rare' as 'uncommon, out of the ordinary', with a nuance of 'interesting because seldom seen' — the word for an unusual dish or a sight you hardly ever encounter.
- na-adjective, no-adjectiveThe katakana loanword. This is the word for meat cooked rare, as when ordering steak, and it also describes things that are hard to come by, such as items collectors seldom find.
- na-adjectiveCovers 'rare' in the sense of frequency: events, cases or abilities that occur only occasionally. It also serves for 'seldom', and it is usually written in kana rather than with kanji.
- 珍ちんna-adjective, nounGlossed plainly as 'rare', but this is really a combining element, not a stand-alone word, and on its own it is seldom how you say 'rare'. For that meaning you want the adjective 珍しい.
- 希少きしょうna-adjective, nounThis word leans toward 'scarce': think of dwindling resources or wildlife found only in small numbers, not of things that are merely unusual.
Use 「珍しい」 when something is simply uncommon or unusual, 「レア」 for steak and hard-to-find items, 「まれ」 for things that seldom happen, 希少 for scarce resources or wildlife, and treat 珍 as a combining form, not a stand-alone word.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 珍しいめずらしいrare
- レアrare
- まれrare
- 珍ちんrare
- 希少きしょうscarce
- 少ないすくないfew
- 不世出ふせいしゅつrare
- 希代きたいuncommon
- 非凡ひぼんextraordinary
- たまoccasional
- 希有けうrare
- 類まれたぐいまれrare
- 希世きせいrare
- めったにないrare
- 稀に見るまれにみるrare
- 稀覯きこうrare (book, manuscript, etc.)
- そうそうないrare
- 生焼けなまやけhalf-roasted
- 珍奇ちんきstrange
- 生煮えなまにえhalf-cooked
- 凡ならざるぼんならざるuncommon
- 珍稀ちんきunusual
- すこぶるつきextreme
- 半焼けはんやけhalf-burnt
- せっかくrare
- 希きrare
- 寥々りょうりょうfew
- 南京ナンキンrare
See also
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