The Meaning of mezurashii [珍しい] In Japanese

珍しい
めずらしい
Romaji: mezurashii N4

What does 珍しい mean?

Translation and Meaning

rare, unusual, uncommon

Definition

An i-adjective meaning rare or unusual; used to describe something not commonly encountered.

Type

i-adjective

Stroke Order

Meanings

1. Rare or seldom encountered. 2. Unusual or not typical in a given context. 3. Noteworthy or remarkable, often used to express curiosity about a person or object.

Etymology

Originates from the kanji 珍, whose left component 玉 (jade) provides the radical and whose right component 真 offers the phonetic cue; the sense shifted from ‘precious’ or ‘treasured’ to ‘rare,’ with the adjectival suffix -しい.

Origin

In historical Japanese usage, rarity appears in classical and everyday language, used to describe unusual phenomena, objects, or people across literary and social contexts.

Composition

Kanji composition:玉 radical on the left with phonetic 真 on the right; overall structure conveys the sense of something precious becoming unusual.

Usage

Used to modify nouns (珍しい花, 珍しい出来事) or as a predicate (この花は珍しいです); forms include 珍しくない (not rare) and 珍しかった (was rare).
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: picture a precious jewel (玉) that stands out because it is unusual—think ‘rare jewel’ to remember珍しい.

Variations

Synonyms and near-synonyms include 稀な (rare), 希少な (scarce, rare), and 珍妙な (strange/odd, more pejorative).

Example Phrases

  • 私は物好きで、珍しい器を集めるのが趣味だ。
    Watashi wa monozuki de, mezurashii utsuwa o atsumeru no ga shumi da.
    I’m the kind of person who loves things, and collecting rare dishes is my hobby.
    Lista:
    • 私は (watashi wa) – I
    • 物好きで (monozuki de) – fond of things
    • 珍しい (mezurashii) – rare
    • 器を (utsuwa o) – dishes
    • 集める (atsumeru) – to collect
    • のが (no ga) – the act of
    • 趣味だ (shumi da) – is a hobby
    Here 「物好き」 is a noun meaning ‘fond of things’ and is used with で to indicate a state or trait.
  • 珍しい野菜を買ったが、味は普通だった。
    Mezurashii yasai o katta ga, aji wa futsū datta.
    I bought rare vegetables, but the taste was ordinary.
    Lista:
    • 珍しい (mezurashii) – rare
    • 野菜 (yasai) – vegetables
    • を (o) – object marker
    • 買った (katta) – bought
    • が (ga) – but
    • 味 (aji) – taste
    • は (wa) – topic marker
    • 普通 (futsū) – ordinary
    • だった (datta) – was
    The target word 「珍しい」 is an i-adjective that directly modifies a noun, as in 「珍しい野菜」.
珍しい