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珍しい (めずらしい, mezurashii) Japanese meaning: rare | Kotomora
Common word› JLPT N4 › Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Conjugation 珍しい · i-adjective
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 珍めずら しい 珍めずら しくない Polite 珍めずら しいです 珍めずら しくないです also 珍めずら しくありません Past polite 珍めずら しかったです 珍めずら しくなかったです also 珍めずら しくありませんでした Past 珍めずら しかった 珍めずら しくなかった Te-form 珍めずら しくて 珍めずら しくなくて Adverbial 珍めずら しく Conditional 珍めずら しければ 珍めずら しくなければ Tara conditional 珍めずら しかったら 珍めずら しくなかったら
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来き
て
い
た
。
A rare bird had come into the garden.
It's unusual for him to be late.
Usage patterns 〈 物もの 〉 が 珍めずら しい for something to be rare or unusual
Snow is rare in this region.
珍めずら しく 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 for someone to unusually do something (out of character)
Unusually, he came home early.
〈 人ひと 〉 には 珍めずら しい unusual for a particular person
That was a rare mistake for him.
珍めずら しいことに unusually, as a rare occurrence (sentence opener)
Rarely for him, he was late.
Related words· 8 稀 is a more formal or literary word for something rare, while 珍しい is the everyday adjective used in ordinary conversation.
新しい describes something objectively new or recent, while 珍しい describes something that feels novel or unfamiliar to the person experiencing it.
珍しい is a native Japanese i-adjective for 'rare/unusual' used in everyday speech, while レア is a katakana loanword often used for trendy items, cards, or scarce goods.
珍しい focuses on something being unusual or surprising, while 希少 emphasizes that the thing is limited in quantity or hard to obtain.
Show 4 more 珍しい is the everyday i-adjective for 'rare/unusual', while 珍 mostly appears as a bound element in compounds like 珍事 or 珍味 rather than as a freely used adjective.
珍しい emphasizes rarity or infrequency, while 変わった emphasizes deviation from the norm regardless of how common or rare it is.
珍しい highlights novelty or unusualness rather than sheer quantity, while 数少ない specifically points out that there are only a small number of something.
珍しい simply means rare or uncommon, while ユニーク implies a distinctive quality that makes something stand out creatively.
Opposites 普通 means ordinary or common, the direct opposite of 珍しい, which means rare or uncommon.
珍しい means 'rare, unusual', the direct opposite of ありがち, which means 'common, typical'.
珍しい describes something rare or unusual, the direct opposite of ありふれた, which describes something overly common.
Written forms 珍めずら しい Usage 83%
Standard and common kanji spelling.
めずらしい Usage 15%
Kana spelling is also practical in everyday writing, especially in informal or learner-facing contexts.
珍めず らしい Usage 2%
search-only kanji form
It is a search-only kanji form; 珍しい is the normal spelling.
メズラシイ Usage <1%
Etymology Native Japanese adjective めずらしい, conventionally written with 珍, a kanji associated with rarity and preciousness. The exact historical derivation is not specified.
珍しい means rare or unfamiliar, the opposite of お馴染み's sense of being well-known and familiar.
物もの 珍めずら しげに
curiously; with curious eyes
