"rare (uncommon)" in seven languages
Meaningrare (uncommon)
Spanish
raro
/ˈraɾo/
learned
Most often means 'strange, weird'; for 'rare' poco común or escaso are safer.
French
rare
/ʁaʁ/
learned
Italian
raro
/ˈraro/
learned
Portuguese
raro
/ˈhaɾu/
learned
Romanian
rar
/rar/
inherited
Also 'sparse, thin' and, as an adverb, 'seldom'.
Catalan
rar
/rar/
learned
Like Spanish raro, often 'strange'; for 'rare' poc comú is safer.
English
rare
/ɹɛɹ/
from Latin/French · Latin RĀRUS, partly via French
English → Italianrare (uncommon)raroCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
RĀRUM‘loose, thinly spread, rare’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
Latin RĀRUS meant 'thinly scattered'. Spanish raro drifted to 'odd', a trap for English speakers: un tipo raro is a weird guy.
English relatives: rarity, rarefied
Learn it
In a sentence
- esEs una especie rara.
- frC'est une espèce rare.
- itÈ una specie rara.
- ptÉ uma espécie rara.
- roEste o specie rară.
- caÉs una espècie rara.
- enIt's a rare species.