hon2罕

Jyutpinghon2

Yalehón

語素

Definition

Rare; scarce; seldom seen.

neutraldescriptions

How it's used

Functions primarily as a bound morpheme in Cantonese, meaning it rarely stands alone as a complete adjective in daily speech. It is almost always paired with other characters to form compound words like 罕見 or 罕有. When describing something as uncommon, native speakers overwhelmingly prefer using 少見 or 唔常見 instead.

Examples

le1呢zung3種faa1花hou2好hon2罕gin3見㗎。

This kind of flower is very rare.

nei5你gin3見gwo3過gam3咁hon2罕jau5有ge3嘅si6事mei6未aa4呀？

Have you ever seen such a rare event?

Common phrases

hon2罕gin3見

rarely seen

hon2罕jau5有

rare

Common mistake

Learners often mistakenly use 罕 as a standalone adjective like a typical English word, but it sounds unnatural or overly literary in spoken Cantonese. Always combine it with another character to form a compound.