小 meaning and stroke order
Small; tiny; few
How to write 小, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 小
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- small
- tiny
- few
- young
How 小 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Dividing 八 by a line 亅.
How to remember 小
The middle hook 亅 splits the two strokes of 八 apart, as if cutting something into smaller pieces. Picture one line dividing a thing in two, so what is left is 小 (xiǎo), small.
小 describes size, age, or amount, and it often appears before names or family terms to sound friendly, as in 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) for a younger colleague. It also builds many everyday words like 小时 (xiǎoshí) hour and 小心 (xiǎoxīn) be careful. Example: 这个房间很小。(Zhège fángjiān hěn xiǎo.) This room is very small.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 小 (xiǎo, small) with 少 (shǎo, few), which adds a slanted stroke at the bottom. Use 小 for size and 少 for quantity, so say 人很少 (rén hěn shǎo) for few people, not 人很小.
Common words with 小
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss | HSK 1 |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour | HSK 1 |
| 小朋友 | xiǎopéngyǒu | child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to | HSK 1 |
| 小学 | xiǎoxué | elementary school; primary school | HSK 1 |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] | HSK 1 |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild | HSK 1 |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | to be careful; to take care | HSK 2 |
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood | HSK 2 |
| 小组 | xiǎozǔ | group | HSK 2 |
| 小说 | xiǎoshuō | novel; fiction | HSK 2 |
| 大小 | dàxiǎo | large and small; size | HSK 2 |
| 从小 | cóngxiǎo | from childhood; from a young age | HSK 2 |
| 小声 | xiǎo shēng | in a low voice; (speak) in whispers | HSK 2 |
| 小王 | Xiǎo Wáng | HSK 2 |
小 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 小
Learning 小 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 小
How many strokes are in 小?
小 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 小 mean?
小 (xiǎo) means small; tiny; few. A common word with it is 小姐 (xiǎojiě), meaning "young lady; miss".
How do you pronounce 小?
小 is pronounced xiǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
Is 小 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 小 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why does 小时 mean hour if 小 means small?
In older Chinese timekeeping a day had 12 large time periods, each about two modern hours. The modern hour is half of one, so it was called a small period, 小时 (xiǎoshí).
Is it polite to call a woman 小姐 (xiǎojiě)?
In formal settings like hotels or letters it is still fine and means Miss. In some parts of mainland China it can carry a negative slang meaning in casual speech, so many people prefer 美女 (měinǚ) or 女士 (nǚshì) when addressing strangers.