少 meaning and stroke order
Few; less; to lack
How to write 少, stroke by stroke
4 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
- 4
Meaning of 少
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- few
- less
- to lack
- to be missing
- to stop (doing sth)
- seldom
- young
How 少 is built
Pictographic character. Grains of sand; 小 provides the pronunciation and meaning.
Radical: 小 (small), shared by 10 characters on this site.
How to remember 少
少 is 小 (xiǎo, small) with an extra slanting stroke 丿 underneath, like a few grains of sand trickling away. Something small that loses even more becomes few or little.
少 (shǎo) means few or little and often appears as a predicate, as in 人很少 (rén hěn shǎo, there are few people). It also means to be missing something. Example: 这里少了一本书。(Zhèlǐ shǎo le yì běn shū.) One book is missing here.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 少 (shǎo, few) with 小 (xiǎo, small) because they look and sound alike. Use 小 for size, as in 小狗 (xiǎo gǒu, small dog), and 少 for quantity, as in 钱很少 (qián hěn shǎo, very little money).
Common words with 少
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 多少 | duōshao | number; amount; somewhat | HSK 1 |
| 不少 | bù shǎo | many; quite a few; a good number of | HSK 2 |
| 少年 | shàonián | early youth; youngster | HSK 2 |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth | HSK 2 |
| 少数 | shǎoshù | small number; few | HSK 2 |
| 至少 | zhìshǎo | at least; (to say the) least | HSK 3 |
| 缺少 | quēshǎo | lack; shortage of | HSK 3 |
| 减少 | jiǎnshǎo | to lessen; to decrease; to reduce; to lower | HSK 4 |
| 少儿 | shào'ér | child | HSK 6 |
| 少女 | shàonǚ | girl; young lady | HSK 7-9 |
| 少林寺 | Shàolín Sì | Shaolin Temple, Buddhist monastery famous for its kung fu monks | HSK 7-9 |
| 少见 | shǎojiàn | rare; seldom seen; (formal) it's a rare pleasure to see you | HSK 7-9 |
| 少量 | shǎoliàng | a smidgen; a little bit | HSK 7-9 |
| 或多或少 | huòduō-huòshǎo | more or less | HSK 7-9 |
少 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 少
Learning 少 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 少
How many strokes are in 少?
少 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 少 mean?
少 (shǎo) means few; less; to lack. A common word with it is 多少 (duōshao), meaning "number; amount; somewhat".
How do you pronounce 少?
少 is pronounced shǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 少?
The radical of 少 is 小, which carries the idea of "small". Dictionaries list 少 under this radical.
Is 少 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 少 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.
When is 少 pronounced shào instead of shǎo?
It is read shào when it means young, as in 少年 (shàonián, youngster) and 青少年 (qīng-shàonián, adolescent). In the meanings of few, less, or missing, it is shǎo.
Can I say 少人 to mean few people?
No. 少 does not usually go directly before a noun on its own. Say 人很少 (rén hěn shǎo) or 很少的人 (hěn shǎo de rén), while 不少人 (bù shǎo rén, many people) is fine.