物 以 稀 为 贵

wù yǐ xī wéi guìdictionary entry

the rarer sth is, the greater its value (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-43b52c5fb65a1bd8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

物以稀為貴物以稀为贵 [wu4 yi3 xi1 wei2 gui4] /the rarer sth is, the greater its value (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 物以稀為貴

物
wù
(bound form) thing / (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself / people other than oneself
以
yǐ
to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)
Yǐ
abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yǐ sè liè]
稀
xī
sparse / scattered / rare / uncommon / diluted / thin / watery / (bound form) sth liquid or of thin consistency (as in 綠豆稀|绿豆稀[lu : 4 dou4 xi1] "sweet mung bean soup") / (bound form) totally / extremely (used with negative attributes, as in 稀糟[xī zāo] "utterly ruined")
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to
贵
guì
expensive / (bound form) highly valued / precious / (bound form) noble / of high rank / (prefix) (honorific) your
Guì
short name for Guizhou 貴州|贵州[Guì zhōu]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.