shǎo

few; little; less

Type: AdjectivesHSK 1
Character origin

A pictograph of a few specks (like grains of sand). Over time it generalised to 'few, scarce'.

Did you know?

The opposite of 多 (many). It's also in the word 少年 (shàonián, youth, teenager). Formally, 少 can be used as a surname.

Radicals it's made of
xiǎosmall
丿piěcurved stroke
Example sentence

很少人。

Hěn shǎo rén.

Very few people.

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