once in a blue moon

English

once in a blue moon (not comparable)

(idiomatic) Very rarely; very infrequently.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:rarely
- 1933, James Hilton, Lost Horizon, published 1973, page 133:
  [T]ime expanded and space contracted, and the name Blue Moon took on a symbolic meaning, as if the future, so delicately plausible, were of a kind that might happen once in a blue moon only.

very rarely

Chinese:
Cantonese: 千載難逢／千载难逢 (cin¹ zoi² naan⁴ fung⁴), 十年唔逢一閏／十年唔逢一闰 (sap⁶ nin⁴ m⁴ fung⁴ jat¹ jeon⁶)

Mandarin: 千載難逢／千载难逢 (zh) (qiānzǎinánféng)
Czech: jednou za uherský rok (cs)
Dutch: eens in de zoveel tijd
Esperanto: ege malofte
Finnish: todella harvoin
French: tous les trente-six du mois (fr) (on every thirty-sixth day of the month), une fois toutes les lunes
Georgian: ათასში ერთხელ (atasši ertxel)
German: alle Jubeljahre (de)
Greek: στη χάση και στη φέξη (el) (sti chási kai sti féxi)
Irish: uair sna naoi n-aird, uair umá seach
Italian: una volta ogni morte di papa, ogni morte di papa
Japanese: ごくまれに (gokumare ni)
Polish: raz na ruski rok (pl), od wielkiego dzwonu (pl)
Portuguese: de vez em nunca (pt), uma vez na vida, outra na morte
Russian: раз в сто ле́т (raz v sto lét) (once every hundred years)
Scottish Gaelic: uair san ràith
Slovak: raz za uhorský rok
Spanish: cada muerte de obispo (es), de guindas a brevas, de higos a brevas, de Pascuas a Ramos (es), de ciento a viento (es), de ciento en viento (es)
Thai: มากไม่ค่อย
Turkish: kırk yılda bir

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