few, little

About this kanji

The kanji 少 means "few" or "little." It is often used as both a noun and an adjective. You might see it in words like 少ない (すくない), which means "few" and is used to describe a small amount of something, or 少し (すこし), meaning "a little," when you want to express a small quantity. Another common compound is 少男 (しょうなん), which refers to a "young boy." A simple usage note is that while 少 can indicate a small number, it can also have nuances of being insufficient or inadequate in certain contexts.

Built from

Example sentences

• 少しだけ待ってください。

  Please wait a little.

Meanings across languages

English

few, little

Tiếng Việt

ít, nhỏ

日本語

少ない, 少し

한국어

조금

中文

少

id

sedikit

th

น้อย

es

poco

fr

peu

de

wenig

pt

pouco

Common compounds

• 少ないすくないfew, a little
• 少しすこしa little, a few
• 少男しょうなんyoung boy