sin2 wai4 jan4 zi1鮮為人知鲜为人知
Jyutpingsin2 wai4 jan4 zi1
Yalesín wàih yàhn jī
Definition
Rarely known to people; little-known.
writtendescriptions
How it's used
This is a formal idiom that sounds quite literary when spoken in casual conversation. It is often used in news reports, documentaries, or written articles to describe obscure facts or hidden history. If you want to sound more natural in daily speech, use 冇乜人知 instead.
Examples
This place is not well-known, very few people have been there.
He has some secrets that are not well-known, do you know them?
Related words
Common phrases
a little-known secret
a side of someone that is not well-known
Common mistake
Beginners often mistakenly use this as a direct substitute for 冇乜人知 in everyday chat, which can make the speaker sound like they are reading from a textbook or trying too hard to sound sophisticated.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
