凤毛麟角
fèng máo lín jiǎo
as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; extremely rare
Character by character
凤fèng
phoenix
phoenix
毛máo
feather
feather
麟lín
qilin
qilin
角jiǎo
horn
horn
Example
那个年代，村里能考上大学的孩子凤毛麟角。
In those days, children from the village who got into university were few and far between.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
For rare and precious people or things, never rare bad ones: 这样的人才凤毛麟角, 可谓凤毛麟角. In the Six Dynasties a young man who had his father’s gifts was said to 有凤毛 (《世说新语》 tells how 桓温 praised 王导’s son this way); 麟角 goes back to the Wei writer 蒋济: scholars are as many as ox hairs, but those who succeed as few as unicorn horns (学者如牛毛，成者如麟角).
Learn this in Lesson 233 · HSK 9+: 横店的群演 (The extras of Hengdian)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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