The character 少 — “few”: how to write it and what it means
few, little
The Chinese character 少 is read shǎo and means “few, little”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 少
少 has 4 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 少, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 少 is made of
In 多少 it is read with the neutral tone.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 少
- 多少how many, how muchHSK 1
- 少年teenagerHSK 4
- 减少reduce, decreaseHSK 4
- 少数minorityHSK 4
- 少量small amountHSK 4
- 至少at leastHSK 4
- 少见rare, uncommonHSK 4
- 缺少lack, be withoutHSK 4
- 少儿children and teenagersHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 少?
少 has 4 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 少 mean?
少 means “few, little”. It appears in 多少 (“how many”), 少年 (“teenager”), 减少 (“reduce”), 少数 (“minority”).
How do you pronounce 少?
少 is read shǎo. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 少 have?
4 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 少 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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