also: きゆう
Describes something that is seldom encountered or exceptional. Often used in formal or literary contexts to emphasize scarcity.
これは稀有なケースです。
This is a rare case.
彼の才能
His talent is rare.
まれ is a simpler, more colloquial adjectival noun for 'rare'. 稀有 carries a stronger sense of exceptional rarity and is more emphatic.
Standard kanji spelling; 稀 is a common character for rarity.
Alternate reading きゆう; less common than けう.
Variant spelling using 希, which also carries a sense of rarity but is less common for this word.
Alternate reading きゆう with variant kanji; rarely used.
Compound of 稀 (rare) and 有 (exist), literally 'rarely existing'. The reading けう is the standard on'yomi; きゆう is an older or alternate reading.