"Seldom" and "rare" are sometimes synonyms, but "seldom" is usually used as an adverb, while "rare" is usually an adjective. There is also a meaning for "rare" which has to do with meat: it means that the meat is not cooked to the point of being well done. This is the preference of many people for preparing expensive beefsteaks.
Now back to time: "seldom" means "not often", and "rare" means "almost never", so it is stronger.
Examples: "I seldom eat red meat, and it is rare for me to eat white grains or white flour."
This means that I do eat red meat, but not often, but that I almost never eat white grains or white flour. I never eat rare steak.
Do you see that in the first sentence, "seldom" is an adverb telling "when" I read red meat: "seldom"; while "rare" is an adjective used in the predicate? See http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/general-language-discussions/4512-predicate-ad
In the second sentence, the adjective "rare" describes "steak": What kind of steak? Rare steak.
I hope this helps.
Taken From http://en.allexperts.com/q/English-Second-Language-1815/2012/2/seldom-rare.htm
7 tháng 12 năm 2012
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Seldom means 'Not often' also the same as Rarely.
7 tháng 12 năm 2012
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So what did Alice mean?. She gives herself very good advice, but she rarely seldom follows it. .... Any interpretations appreciated.
7 tháng 2 năm 2015
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Good question. There's really not much difference between those 2 words.
I seldom eat rare meat. I rarely eat rare meat.
The meaning is more or less the same.
11 tháng 7 năm 2013
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