少数 meaning in English

shǎoshù

small number; few

HSK 2nounTraditional 少數17 strokes

Meaning of 少数

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

shǎoshù

small number
few
minority

How to use 少数

少数 is used as a noun or before another noun to mean a small part of a group, often contrasted with 大多数 (dàduōshù, majority). A common phrase is 少数民族 (shǎoshù mínzú, ethnic minority). Example: 只有少数人同意。(Zhǐyǒu shǎoshù rén tóngyì.) Only a few people agreed.

少 (shǎo) means few and 数 (shù) means number, so 少数 is simply a few in number. Picture a small count on a tally sheet: that is the minority.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 少 as shào here because of 少年 (shàonián), but in 少数 it is third tone shǎo. Also, 数 is fourth tone shù as a noun, not third tone shǔ, which is the verb to count.

少数 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

只zhǐ有yǒu少shǎo数shù的de人rén才cái懂dǒng了le我wǒ的de意yì思si。

Only a few people understood me.

极jí少shǎo数shù的de日rì本běn人rén可kě以yǐ很hěn好hǎo地dì使shǐ用yòng英yīng语yǔ。

Few Japanese can use English well.

只zhǐ有yǒu少shǎo数shù的de人rén能néng够gòu理lǐ解jiě他tā的de说shuō话huà。

Only a few understood what he said.

博bó物wù馆guǎn的de参cān观guān者zhě中zhōng有yǒu少shǎo数shù是shì外wài国guó人rén。

There was a sprinkling of foreigners among the visitors in the museum.

未wèi来lái属shǔ于yú我wǒ们men当dāng中zhōng那nà些xiē仍réng然rán愿yuàn意yì弄nòng脏zāng自zì己jǐ双shuāng手shǒu的de少shǎo数shù人rén。

The future belongs to the few among us who are still willing to get their hands dirty.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

少 shǎo · few · 4 strokes

数 shǔ · to count · 13 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 少数.

多少	duōshao	number; amount; somewhat
不少	bù shǎo	many; quite a few; a good number of
数字	shùzì	numeral; digit
大多数	dàduōshù	(great) majority
少年	shàonián	early youth; youngster
人数	rénshù	number of people
多数	duōshù	majority; most
青少年	qīng-shàonián	adolescent; youth
分数	fēnshù	(exam) grade; mark
至少	zhìshǎo	at least; (to say the) least
数量	shùliàng	amount; quantity; quantitative
缺少	quēshǎo	lack; shortage of

Questions about 少数

What does 少数 mean?

少数 (shǎoshù) means "small number; few" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 少数?

少数 is made of 2 characters: 少 (4 strokes), 数 (13 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 少数 an HSK word?

Yes. 少数 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 少数 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 少数 is written 少數.

What is the difference between 少数 and 不少?

少数 means a small portion or a minority. 不少 (bù shǎo) means quite a lot, so the two have nearly opposite meanings. For example, 不少人 means many people, while 少数人 means a few people.

Can I say 少数 on its own without a noun after it?

Yes. It can stand alone as a noun, as in 少数服从多数 (shǎoshù fúcóng duōshù), the minority follows the majority. It is also often followed by 的 or a noun, like 少数的意见 or 少数人.