Meaning of 大小
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- large and small
- size
- adults and children
- consideration of seniority
- at any rate
How to use 大小
大小 (dàxiǎo) is most often a noun meaning size, used for clothes, shoes, rooms and objects. It can also mean adults and children together, as in 一家大小 (yì jiā dàxiǎo) the whole family. Example: 这件衣服大小正好。(Zhè jiàn yīfu dàxiǎo zhènghǎo.) This piece of clothing is just the right size.
Put big 大 (dà) next to small 小 (xiǎo) and you get the whole range from big to small, which is simply size. 大 looks like a person with arms stretched wide, and 小 looks like a few small bits, so the pair covers both ends.
Common mistake: Learners often use 大小 as a question word like 多大 (duō dà). To ask how big something is, say 多大 (duō dà), not 大小. Use 大小 when talking about the size itself, as in 大小合适 (dàxiǎo héshì) the size fits.
大小 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
大 dà · big · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
小 xiǎo · small · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 大小.
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 大学 | dàxué | university; college |
| 小朋友 | xiǎopéngyǒu | child; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to |
| 小学 | xiǎoxué | elementary school; primary school |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
Questions about 大小
What does 大小 mean?
大小 (dàxiǎo) means "large and small; size" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 大小?
大小 is made of 2 characters: 大 (3 strokes), 小 (3 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 大小 an HSK word?
Yes. 大小 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I ask what size someone wears in Chinese?
You can say 你穿多大的？(Nǐ chuān duō dà de?) What size do you wear? You can also ask 大小合适吗？(Dàxiǎo héshì ma?) Does the size fit?
Is the 小 in 大小 pronounced with a full third tone?
In normal speech 小 at the end keeps its third tone, so it sounds like dà xiǎo with a low dip. It is not neutral tone, and 大 stays a falling fourth tone.