little, small

About this kanji

The kanji 「小」 means "little" or "small" and is commonly used as both a noun and an adjective. It describes size and is often found in compounds like 縮小 (shukusho), meaning "reduction", and 小屋 (koya), which means "hut". Another example is 小学 (shougaku), referring to "elementary school". This kanji is useful in everyday conversation, allowing you to describe things of a smaller size or importance. For instance, when talking about younger siblings, you might use the word 小さい (chiisai) to say something is small or young.

Example sentences

• 小さな声で話してください。

  Please speak in a small voice.

Meanings across languages

English

little, small

Tiếng Việt

nhỏ, bé

日本語

小さい, 少ない

한국어

작은, 소규모

中文

小, 微小

id

kecil, sedikit

th

เล็ก, น้อย

es

pequeño, poco

fr

petit, peu

de

klein, wenig

pt

pequeno, pouco

Common compounds

• 縮小しゅくしょうreduction, curtailment, cut
• 小屋こやhut, cabin, shed
• 小学しょうがくelementary school, primary school, grade school
• 小山こやまhill, knoll
• 小説しょうせつnovel, story, (work of) fiction
• 小川おがわstream, brook, creek
• 小島こじまsmall island, islet
• 中小ちゅうしょうsmall and medium

Words using this kanji

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