缺少 meaning in English

quēshǎo

lack; shortage of

HSK 3verb14 strokes

Meaning of 缺少

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

quēshǎo

lack
shortage of
shortfall
to be short (of)
to lack

How to use 缺少

缺少 is followed directly by a noun for the thing that is lacking, often abstract things like experience, time, or confidence. It sounds a bit more formal than 没有 (méiyǒu). Example: 他缺少工作经验。(Tā quēshǎo gōngzuò jīngyàn.) He lacks work experience.

缺 (quē) means to be missing or incomplete, and 少 (shǎo) means few or little. Put them together and you get something that is missing and not enough: to lack.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 少 here as shào, as in 少年 (shàonián), but in 缺少 it is third tone shǎo. Also, do not add 了 or 很 before the object the way you might with an adjective; say 缺少钱, not 很缺少钱 in most cases.

缺少 in example sentences

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

水shuǐ是shì生shēng命mìng所suǒ不bù可kě缺quē少shǎo的de。

Water is essential to life.

缺quē少shǎo运yùn动dòng有yǒu害hài健jiàn康kāng。

A lack of exercise is bad for your health.

此cǐ刻kè我wǒ缺quē少shǎo现xiàn金jīn。

I'm short of cash at the moment.

公gōng司sī缺quē少shǎo领lǐng导dǎo团tuán队duì。

The company lacks leadership.

厨chú房fáng里lǐ缺quē少shǎo一yī台tái洗xǐ碗wǎn机jī。

The kitchen lacks a dishwasher.

Stroke order for each character

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

缺 quē · deficiency · 10 strokes

少 shǎo · few · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 缺少.

多少	duōshao	number; amount; somewhat
不少	bù shǎo	many; quite a few; a good number of
少年	shàonián	early youth; youngster
青少年	qīng-shàonián	adolescent; youth
少数	shǎoshù	small number; few
至少	zhìshǎo	at least; (to say the) least
缺点	quēdiǎn	weak point; fault
减少	jiǎnshǎo	to lessen; to decrease; to reduce; to lower
缺乏	quēfá	to lack; to be short of
缺陷	quēxiàn	defect; flaw
少儿	shào'ér	child
少女	shàonǚ	girl; young lady

Questions about 缺少

What does 缺少 mean?

缺少 (quēshǎo) means "lack; shortage of" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 缺少?

缺少 is made of 2 characters: 缺 (10 strokes), 少 (4 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.

Is 缺少 an HSK word?

Yes. 缺少 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 缺少 and 缺乏?

Both mean to lack. 缺乏 (quēfá) is more formal and is used mostly with abstract things like 经验 or 信心. 缺少 works for both abstract things and countable things, such as 缺少一个人 (missing one person).

Can 缺少 be used in the negative form?

Yes. 不可缺少 (bù kě quēshǎo) means indispensable, as in 水是生活中不可缺少的 (Water is indispensable in life). This set phrase is very common in writing.