稍微 meaning in English

shāowēi

a little bit

HSK 5adverb25 strokes

Meaning of 稍微

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

shāowēi
  1. a little bit

How to use 稍微

稍微 goes before a verb or adjective to soften it, and it is usually followed by 一点 (yìdiǎn), 一下 (yíxià), or 有点 (yǒudiǎn). Example: 请你稍微等一下。(Qǐng nǐ shāowēi děng yíxià.) Please wait a moment.

稍 (shāo) has the grain radical 禾 and means slightly, and 微 (wēi) means tiny, as in 微笑 (wēixiào), a tiny smile. Put them together and you get a small grain of something: just a little bit.

Common mistake: Learners often write 稍微贵 on its own, but natural Chinese usually adds a quantity word, as in 稍微贵一点 (shāowēi guì yìdiǎn), a bit more expensive. Also do not write 稍 with the 木 radical (梢 shāo, tip of a branch); it uses 禾.

稍微 in example sentences

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

稍shāo微wēi冷lěng一yì点diǎn没méi关guān系xì。
I don't mind if it's a little cold.
你nǐ能néng稍shāo微wēi告gào诉sù我wǒ关guān于yú自zì己jǐ的de事shì情qíng吗ma?
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
稍shāo微wēi随suí意yì一yì点diǎn。
Let your hair down a little.
这zhè种zhǒng颜yán色sè比bǐ那nà种zhǒng稍shāo微wēi深shēn一yì点diǎn。
This color is a bit darker than that one.
也yě许xǔ你nǐ是shì对duì的de,但dàn我wǒ们men的de意yì见jiàn稍shāo微wēi有yǒu所suǒ不bù同tóng。
You may be right, but we have a slightly different opinion.

Stroke order for each character

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

稍 shāo · somewhat · 12 strokes

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微 wēi · small · 13 strokes

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Related words

Words that share a character with 稍微.

微笑wēixiàosmile; to smile
微信wēixìnWeixin or WeChat (instant messaging and social media app developed by Tencent 騰訊|腾讯[Teng2
微博wēibómicroblogging; microblog
微波炉wēibōlúmicrowave oven
稍后shāohòuin a little while; shortly after
轻微qīngwēislight; light
微不足道wēibùzúdào(idiom) negligible; insignificant
微妙wēimiàosubtle
微弱wēiruòweak; faint
稍稍shāoshāosomewhat; a little
稍候shāohòuto wait a moment
微型wēixíngminiature; micro-; tiny

Questions about 稍微

What does 稍微 mean?

稍微 (shāowēi) means "a little bit" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 稍微?

稍微 is made of 2 characters: 稍 (12 strokes), 微 (13 strokes). That is 25 strokes in total.

Is 稍微 an HSK word?

Yes. 稍微 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 稍微 and 有点儿?

有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) usually goes before adjectives with a negative or unwanted feeling, like 有点儿累. 稍微 is more neutral and often softens requests or comparisons, like 稍微快一点. They can also combine: 稍微有点儿冷.

Can I shorten 稍微 to just 稍?

Yes, 稍 alone is used in more formal or written Chinese, for example 请稍等 (qǐng shāo děng), please wait a moment. You also see it in words like 稍后 (shāohòu), in a little while. In everyday speech 稍微 is more common.