Meaning of 缩小
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to reduce; to decrease; to shrink
How to use 缩小
缩小 is used for making sizes, gaps, ranges, or differences smaller, and it often takes an object directly. A very common phrase is 缩小差距 (suōxiǎo chājù), to narrow the gap. Example: 请把这张图片缩小一点。 (Qǐng bǎ zhè zhāng túpiàn suōxiǎo yìdiǎn.) Please make this picture a little smaller.
缩 (suō) means to shrink or draw back, and 小 (xiǎo) means small. Put them together and you get "shrink until small," which is exactly what 缩小 means.
Common mistake: Learners often use 缩小 for amounts or quantities, like prices or numbers, where 减少 (jiǎnshǎo) or 降低 (jiàngdī) is more natural. 缩小 is best for size, scope, or distance. Also note that 缩 is first tone (suō), not shuò.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
缩 suō · to withdraw · 14 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
小 xiǎo · small · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 缩小.
| 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 缩小
What does 缩小 mean?
缩小 (suōxiǎo) means "to reduce; to decrease; to shrink" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 缩小?
缩小 is made of 2 characters: 缩 (14 strokes), 小 (3 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 缩小 an HSK word?
Yes. 缩小 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 缩小 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 缩小 is written 縮小.
What is the opposite of 缩小?
The usual opposite is 扩大 (kuòdà), to expand or enlarge. For images on a screen, you will also see 放大 (fàngdà), to zoom in or magnify.
Can 缩小 be used without an object?
Yes. It can describe something that becomes smaller by itself, as in 差距缩小了 (chājù suōxiǎo le), the gap has narrowed. It works both as an action you do to something and as a change that happens.