Meaning of 小
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- small
- tiny
- few
- young
How to use 小
小 (xiǎo) describes things that are small in size, few in number, or young in age, and it also works as a prefix in many everyday words like 小时 (xiǎoshí, hour) and 小学 (xiǎoxué, primary school). Example: 我的房间很小。(Wǒ de fángjiān hěn xiǎo.) My room is very small.
Picture 小 (xiǎo) as one thin stroke in the middle with two tiny dots on either side, like a small object breaking into even smaller pieces. Everything about the shape looks little and light.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 小 (xiǎo, small) with 少 (shǎo, few), which adds a slanted stroke at the bottom. Use 小 for size or age and 少 for quantity, so say 人很少 (rén hěn shǎo) for few people, not 人很小.
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.
小 xiǎo · small · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 小.
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | young lady; miss |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour |
| 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 |
| 小孩儿 | xiǎoháir | erhua variant of 小孩[xiao3 hai2] |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 小心 | xiǎoxīn | to be careful; to take care |
| 小时候 | xiǎoshíhou | in one's childhood |
| 小组 | xiǎozǔ | group |
| 小说 | xiǎoshuō | novel; fiction |
| 大小 | dàxiǎo | large and small; size |
| 从小 | cóngxiǎo | from childhood; from a young age |
Questions about 小
What does 小 mean?
小 (xiǎo) means "small; tiny" and is used as a adjective and prefix.
How do you write 小?
小 is made of 1 character: 小 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 小 an HSK word?
Yes. 小 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 小姐 (xiǎojiě) a polite way to address a woman?
Literally it means miss or young lady, and it appears in formal or written contexts. In some regions of mainland China it can sound awkward in speech, so many people use 美女 (měinǚ) or 服务员 (fúwùyuán) for waitstaff instead.
Why do Chinese people put 小 in front of names?
Adding 小 before a surname or given name, like 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng), is a friendly, familiar way to address someone younger or a close colleague. It shows warmth rather than meaning the person is small.