HSK 6 Verb usage
… 不乏 …
There is no lack of (不乏)
Structure (Frame/collective) + 不乏 + nominal object (佳作 · 先例 · 人才)
不乏 (bù fá) is a literary litotes: 乏 means "to lack, to be scarce", so 不乏 = "there is no shortage of", i.e. "there is plenty of, they abound". It takes a nominal object, almost always abstract or evaluative (佳作, 先例, 人才, 误解): 其中不乏佳作 "among them there is no lack of fine works". It usually follows a frame marking the whole set (其中, 历史上, 现实中) and elegantly asserts, by negating the lack, that something is plentiful. It is more nuanced and understated than the blunt 有很多: it stresses that the example is not rare. Register of essay and criticism.
Examples
- 在这些参赛作品中,不乏令人惊艳的佳作。
Among these competition entries there is no shortage of dazzling works.
- 历史上不乏由小及大、终成大业的先例。
History offers no lack of precedents of small beginnings ending in great achievements.
- 这家公司人才济济,更不乏年轻的领军人物。
This company is brimming with talent, and there is no shortage of young figures who lead the field.
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