📖 Meaning
Describes something so scarce or sparse that it can be counted on one's fingers. It emphasizes a remarkably small number, barely enough to tally up. Often used to highlight how rare a thing, person, or instance is.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom traces to a line by the Tang-dynasty poet Liu Changqing in his poem "Guo Zheng Shanren Suoju" (Visiting the Hermit Zheng's Dwelling), which reads "ji ji gu ying ti xing yuan, liao liao yi quan fei tao yuan" — a quiet scene where a lone oriole sings and a solitary dog barks, suggesting emptiness and fewness. Over time, the phrase 寥寥 was paired with 可数 to form this chengyu, meaning "so few they can be counted." Later, the Qing-dynasty scholar Fang Bao also employed the idiom in his memorial to the throne to lament how few officials would steadfastly uphold integrity.
💡 Example Usage
真正能坚持到底的人寥寥可数。
Those who can truly persevere to the end are few and far between.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 寥寥可数
- Pinyin: liáo liáo kě shǔ
- Literal Translation: few, few, can, count
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4