少

shǎo

few

HSK 1 — —

漢字分解

Basic Meaning

The character 少 (shǎo) primarily means "few" or "little" in quantity. It is commonly used to describe a small number or amount of something, such as people, objects, or time.

Additional Uses

Besides quantity, 少 can also indicate "young" when referring to age, often in comparative contexts. For example, "他比我少三岁" means "He is three years younger than me."

Common Collocations

  • 很少 (hěn shǎo): very few, rarely
  • 少说话 (shǎo shuō huà): talk less
  • 少吃 (shǎo chī): eat less

These collocations show how 少 is used to express scarcity or reduction in various contexts.

Usage Notes

少 is often used attributively before nouns or in comparative sentences. When expressing "few" as an adverb, it usually appears with 很 (hěn) or other modifiers. Avoid confusing 少 with 少许 (shǎo xǔ), which means "a little bit" and is more about quantity than frequency.

例文

这里的人很少。

Zhè lǐ de rén hěn shǎo.

There are very few people here.

他比我少三岁。

Tā bǐ wǒ shǎo sān suì.

He is three years younger than me.

少说话,多做事。

Shǎo shuō huà, duō zuò shì.

Talk less, do more.