至少 meaning in English

zhìshǎo

at least; (to say the) least

HSK 3adverb10 strokes

Meaning of 至少

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhìshǎo

at least
(to say the) least

How to use 至少

至少 usually goes before a verb or a number to set a minimum, and it can also start a sentence to mean "at least" in a comforting sense. Example: 我每天至少喝两杯水。(Wǒ měitiān zhìshǎo hē liǎng bēi shuǐ.) I drink at least two glasses of water every day.

至 (zhì) means to reach or arrive, and 少 (shǎo) means few or little. Together 至少 means "reaching down to the smallest amount," which is "at least."

Common mistake: Learners often read 少 here as shào, the tone used in 少年 (shàonián), but in 至少 it is always shǎo with the third tone. Also do not place 至少 after the verb as in English word order. Say 至少需要 (zhìshǎo xūyào), not 需要至少 when you mean "need at least."

至少 in example sentences

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

我wǒ们men和hé至zhì少shǎo十shí个gè美měi国guó人rén交jiāo了le朋péng友yǒu。

We made friends with at least ten Americans.

我wǒ弟dì弟di非fēi常cháng重zhòng要yào。至zhì少shǎo他tā认rèn为wéi他tā是shì。

My brother is very important. At least he thinks he is.

我wǒ至zhì少shǎo有yǒu十shí本běn书shū。

I have at least ten books.

这zhè次cì旅lǚ行xíng至zhì少shǎo得de花huā一yī星xīng期qī时shí间jiān。

The trip will take at least a week.

他tā至zhì少shǎo有yǒu一yī千qiān本běn书shū。

He has at least one thousand books.

Stroke order for each character

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

至 zhì · to arrive · 6 strokes

少 shǎo · few · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 至少.

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
至今	zhìjīn	so far; to this day
缺少	quēshǎo	lack; shortage of
甚至	shènzhì	even; so much so that
减少	jiǎnshǎo	to lessen; to decrease; to reduce; to lower
至于	zhìyú	as for; as to
不至于	bùzhìyú	unlikely to go so far as to; not as bad as
截至	jiézhì	up to (a time); by (a time)

Questions about 至少

What does 至少 mean?

至少 (zhìshǎo) means "at least; (to say the) least" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 至少?

至少 is made of 2 characters: 至 (6 strokes), 少 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 至少 an HSK word?

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

What is the opposite of 至少?

The opposite is 至多 (zhìduō) or 最多 (zuìduō), meaning "at most." For example, 最多十分钟 (zuìduō shí fēnzhōng) means "ten minutes at most."

What is the difference between 至少 and 最少?

Both can mean "at least" before a number, and 最少 (zuìshǎo) is a bit more casual. Only 至少 is used for the comforting sense, as in 至少你没受伤 (zhìshǎo nǐ méi shòushāng), "at least you weren't hurt."