CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

千载难逢 (qiān zǎi nán féng)

an extremely rare opportunity

Plain Answer

Source: Classical-style rarity expression. Treated here as proverb image; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 千载难逢 means an extremely rare opportunity: Used when an opportunity, event, or meeting is genuinely rare and should not be treated as ordinary.

Practice this meaning
Label
neutral / common formal
Best objects
rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 千载难逢 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 机不可失 or the contrast points toward 守株待兔, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 千载难逢 when the rare meeting sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 千载难逢 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

rare meeting能和这位专家面对面交流，是千载难逢的机会。Neng he zhe wei zhuanjia miandui mian jiaoliu, shi qian zai nan feng de jihui.The chance to speak face to face with this expert is an extremely rare opportunity.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 机不可失 before practicing 千载难逢 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 机不可失, 分秒必争, 风云际会

Read This First

千载难逢 is introduced here through a proverb or image-based phrase with a learner-safe source boundary; the source label is Classical-style rarity expression, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

千载难逢 means an extremely rare opportunity. The important first reading is Used when an opportunity, event, or meeting is genuinely rare and should not be treated as ordinary. This is a neutral phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 千载难逢 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary; then compare 机不可失 and 分秒必争 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 千载难逢 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: rare meeting plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used when an opportunity, event, or meeting is genuinely rare and should not be treated as ordinary.

Literal meaning

hard to encounter in a thousand years

  • 千载 / a thousand years
  • 难逢 / hard to encounter

English equivalents

  • once-in-a-lifetime near

    Use this when the chance, meeting, evidence, or event is genuinely rare enough that missing it would matter.

  • extremely rare opportunity plain

    once-in-a-lifetime is vivid, while extremely rare opportunity is safer when the tone must stay measured

  • hard to come by plain

    This is safer when the audience needs the meaning without extra cultural explanation.

How To Use It

Use 千载难逢 when the reader can see why an extremely rare opportunity is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it when the chance, meeting, evidence, or event is genuinely rare enough that missing it would matter.
  • The tone is emphatic and urgent, so the surrounding sentence should make the judgment visible.
  • It works in rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary contexts when the boundary is clear.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 千载难逢 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 机不可失 or the contrast points toward 守株待兔, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it when the opportunity is merely useful, attractive, or convenient.
  • Do not choose it only because the English gloss "once-in-a-lifetime" feels close; compare ji-bu-ke-shi first.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 千载难逢.

    The sentence drops in 千载难逢 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for an extremely rare opportunity appears before or after the phrase.

    千载难逢 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare ji bu ke shi

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 千载难逢 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 千载难逢, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 守株待兔 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    千载难逢 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare shou zhu dai tu

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 千载难逢 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 千载难逢 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a emphatic and urgent judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 分秒必争 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    千载难逢 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare fen miao bi zheng

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 千载难逢 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 好逸恶劳, use that contrast instead.

    千载难逢 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare hao yi wu lao

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 千载难逢 with nearby learner choices

    千载难逢 is often studied beside 机不可失 and 分秒必争 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释千载难逢，再比较机不可失和分秒必争，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    ji bu ke shifen miao bi zheng

  2. 千载难逢 with contrast checks

    千载难逢 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 风云际会 and 守株待兔; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用千载难逢造句，再换成风云际会，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    feng yun ji huishou zhu dai tuji bu ke shi

  3. 千载难逢 in example-building drills

    千载难逢 should be practiced with 机不可失 and 风云际会 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用千载难逢写一个有证据的句子，再换成机不可失或风云际会说明判断为什么改变。

    ji bu ke shifeng yun ji huifen miao bi zheng

  4. 千载难逢 in story and source review

    千载难逢 links best with 分秒必争 and 守株待兔 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背千载难逢的故事，还要比较分秒必争，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    fen miao bi zhengshou zhu dai tuji bu ke shi

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Use 千载难逢 when the chance, meeting, evidence, or event is genuinely rare enough that missing it would matter. This first test keeps the phrase from spreading across every nearby topic. Before using it, identify the speaker, the object being judged, and the reason a plain word would miss the Chinese nuance.

For English translation, once-in-a-lifetime is vivid, while extremely rare opportunity is safer when the tone must stay measured. Do not choose an English phrase only because it sounds idiomatic. The translation should preserve tone, register, and the situation logic before it tries to sound compact.

The main misuse risk is when the opportunity is merely useful, attractive, or convenient. That boundary matters because chengyu often share a theme while judging different causes, time points, or social attitudes. A nearby phrase can be familiar and still be wrong.

Before using it in your own sentence, show what makes the chance rare and why the same chance is hard to recreate. Then compare the sentence with ji-bu-ke-shi and fen-miao-bi-zheng. If one nearby entry explains the situation with less force or more precision, choose that entry instead.

Before using 千载难逢, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 千载难逢 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 千载难逢 with 机不可失 and 守株待兔 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 千载难逢, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

rare meeting is the first test zone for 千载难逢, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among once-in-a-lifetime, extremely rare opportunity, hard to come by as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with ji-bu-ke-shi and fen-miao-bi-zheng; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 千载难逢 is translated as once-in-a-lifetime, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep emphatic and urgent and the strategy use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it when the opportunity is merely useful, attractive, or convenient.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

rare meeting

能和这位专家面对面交流，是千载难逢的机会。

Neng he zhe wei zhuanjia miandui mian jiaoliu, shi qian zai nan feng de jihui.

The chance to speak face to face with this expert is an extremely rare opportunity.

rare evidence

这样的资料保存完整，确实千载难逢。

Zheyang de ziliao baocun wanzheng, queshi qian zai nan feng.

It is truly rare to have materials like this preserved so completely.

scope boundary

千载难逢强调稀有，不是所有好机会都能这样说。

Qian zai nan feng qiangdiao xiyou, bu shi suoyou hao jihui dou neng zheyang shuo.

千载难逢 emphasizes rarity; not every good opportunity deserves the phrase.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用千载难逢。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong qian zai nan feng

Only use 千载难逢 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说千载难逢。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo qian zai nan feng

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 千载难逢 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写千载难逢。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie qian zai nan feng

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 千载难逢 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以千载难逢读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi qian zai nan feng du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 千载难逢 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用千载难逢造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong qian zai nan feng zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 千载难逢.

Story and Cultural Context

千载难逢 compresses rarity into an exaggerated time scale. A thousand years is not literal; it signals that the chance is unusually hard to meet. Modern learners usually need the phrase as a decision tool. It tells them when a situation has crossed a specific boundary, not merely which English word looks similar. In the examples here, the phrase is tested against rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary so the reader can see how the meaning changes with use. The safest reading is to keep the image, the tone, and the social situation together. 千载难逢 compresses rarity into an exaggerated time scale. A thousand years is not literal; it signals that the chance is unusually hard to meet. For English speakers, the useful memory is not only the literal image but the decision it makes possible. The examples test rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary so the phrase remains tied to real use instead of becoming a decorative translation label. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 千载难逢 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The image-based usage route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 千载难逢 through rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 千载难逢 can point toward once-in-a-lifetime, extremely rare opportunity, hard to come by, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 千载难逢 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 机不可失 and 分秒必争 and with 守株待兔 and 好逸恶劳 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 千载难逢 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: Rarity changes how seriously an opportunity should be treated.

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

千载难逢 should first be read as a decision about an extremely rare opportunity, not as a collectible story label. The image logic helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a neutral judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 千载难逢 deliberately cover rare meeting, rare evidence, scope boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 千载难逢, compare it with 机不可失 and 分秒必争 and, when possible, with 守株待兔 and 好逸恶劳. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

千载难逢 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

千载难逢 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first