TOPIK · Level 216
15 words
Korean word
드물다
Pronunciation
Romanizationteumulda
Meaning
- adjectiverare
Example
그런 기회는 요즘 드물어요.keu reon ki hoe neun yo jeum teu mu reo yo
Such opportunities are rare these days.
More examples
그 책은 절판이라서 서점에서 찾기 드물어요.keu chae geun cheol pa ni ra seo seo jeo me seo chat kki teu mu reo yo
That book is out of print, so it is rare to find it in bookstores.
Core concept
A situation or event that appears only now and then, so it is hard to come across.
Common phrases
드문 기회teu mun ki hoe
rare opportunity
드문 발견teu mun pal gyeon
rare discovery
Similar words
보기 드물다pogi teumulda: Seen so infrequently that encountering it is unusual.
흔치 않다heunchi anta: Not common in general and therefore found only occasionally.
귀하다kwihada: Valued as precious because scarcity gives it special worth.
Definition in Korean
흔하지 않아 보기 어렵고 발생 빈도가 낮아 거의 생기지 않는 상황을 가리키는 형용사.heun ha ji a na po gi eo ryeop kko pal saeng pin do ga na ja keo ui saeng gi ji an neun sang hwang eul ka ri ki neun hyeong yong sa
Word origin
No confirmed etymology is available for 드물다 (deumulda, "rare"), so its meaning is safer to learn directly than through a guessed decomposition.
Usage tips
- It often describes chances or events that do not come up often, not only unusual objects, so it is useful for talking about everyday possibilities.
Opposites
- 흔하다heunhadacommonadjective
Related words
- 드물게teumulgerarelyadverb
- 드문드문teumundeumunsporadicallyadverb