Not often seen or not often happening. It is the everyday opposite of common, and it is a gentler, more careful word than rare.

Not often seen不常被看到 or not often happening或不常發生。It is the everyday opposite of common它是common的日常反義詞，and it is a gentler, more careful word than rare而且是比rare更委婉、更謹慎的字。

If you say a bird is rare, you suggest there are very few of them left; if you say it is uncommon, you only mean you do not see it often. Teachers, doctors, and writers like this word because it does not exaggerate.

If you say a bird is rare如果你說一隻鳥是rare，you suggest there are very few of them left你在暗示牠們剩下的數量非常少；if you say it is uncommon如果你說牠是uncommon，you only mean you do not see it often你只是說你不常看到牠。Teachers, doctors, and writers like this word老師、醫生和作家都喜歡這個字 because it does not exaggerate因為它不誇張。

You will very often meet it in the negative — 'not uncommon' — which is a polite English way of saying 'this happens quite a lot, actually': 'It is not uncommon for students to feel nervous before the exam.' Two negatives, but the meaning is positive, and it sounds calmer and more educated than 'many students feel nervous'.

You will very often meet it in the negative你會很常在否定句裡看到它 — 'not uncommon'「not uncommon」 — which is a polite English way of saying 'this happens quite a lot, actually'這是英文裡有禮貌地說「這其實還挺常發生的」的方式：'It is not uncommon for students to feel nervous before the exam.'「It is not uncommon for students to feel nervous before the exam.」Two negatives, but the meaning is positive雖然是兩個否定，但意思是肯定的，and it sounds calmer and more educated than 'many students feel nervous'而且聽起來比「many students feel nervous」更沉穩、更有教養。

There is a second, older sense: unusually good or striking, as in 'a woman of uncommon intelligence'. That one is formal and now sounds a little literary; you will meet it in books more than in speech.

There is有 a second, older sense第二個比較舊的意思：unusually good or striking不尋常地好、或引人注目，as in 'a woman of uncommon intelligence'像「a woman of uncommon intelligence」這樣的用法。That one is formal那個意思很正式 and now sounds a little literary而且現在聽起來有點文學腔；you will meet it in books more than in speech你會在書裡比在口語裡更常遇到它。

Old writers also used uncommon as an adverb meaning 'unusually' ('uncommon good beer'), but that is now dialect or very old-fashioned, and students should not copy it.

Old writers also used uncommon as an adverb meaning 'unusually'以前的作家也把uncommon當副詞用，意思是「不尋常地」 ('uncommon good beer')（像「uncommon good beer」），but that is now dialect or very old-fashioned但這種用法現在是方言或非常過時的說法，and students should not copy it學生不應該模仿。