鳳毛麟角

Chinese

		phoenix fur; a fine son taking after his father	qilin horn; rare treasures; rare things
trad. (鳳毛麟角)		鳳毛	麟角
simp. (凤毛麟角)		凤毛	麟角
anagram		麟角鳳毛／麟角凤毛
Literally: “phoenix feathers and unicorn horns”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fèngmáo línjiǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄥˋ ㄇㄠˊ ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fung⁶ mou⁴ leon⁴ gok³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): fung-mô-lìn-kok

  (Hailu, HRS): fung^˖ mo^ˋ lin gog

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fèngmáo línjiǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄥˋ ㄇㄠˊ ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fòngmáo línjiǎo
    • Wade–Giles: fêng⁴-mao² lin²-chiao³
    • Yale: fèng-máu lín-jyǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fenqmau linjeau
    • Palladius: фэнмао линьцзяо (fɛnmao linʹczjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɤŋ⁵¹ mɑʊ̯³⁵ lin³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fung⁶ mou⁴ leon⁴ gok³
    • Yale: fuhng mòuh lèuhn gok
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fung⁶ mou⁴ loen⁴ gok⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: fung⁶ mou⁴ lên⁴ gog³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fʊŋ²² mou̯²¹ lɵn²¹ kɔːk̚³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: fung-mô-lìn-kok
    • Hakka Romanization System: fung mo^ˊ lin^ˇ gog^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: fung⁴ mo¹ lin² gog⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /fuŋ⁵⁵ mo²⁴ lin¹¹ kok̚²/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: fung^˖ mo^ˋ lin gog
    • Sinological IPA: /fuŋ³³ mo⁵³ lin⁵⁵ kok⁵/

Idiom

鳳毛麟角

1. rarity of rarities; rare treasures or talents; things that are few and far between

Synonyms

• 麟角鳳毛／麟角凤毛 (línjiǎo fèngmáo)

References

• “Entry #8153”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Chinese and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.
• “鳳毛麟角”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.