How to say “few” in Chinese
few, little
“Few” in Chinese is 少, shǎo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
少 is read shǎo. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
In 多少 it is read with the neutral tone.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “少”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 少. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 这个多少钱？zhègeduōshaoqiánHow much is this?
- 一杯茶多少钱？yìbēicháduōshaoqiánHow much is a cup of tea?
- 这本书多少钱？zhèběnshūduōshaoqiánHow much is this book?
- 这些书多少钱zhèxiēshūduōshaoqiánHow much are these books?
- 这件衣服多少钱？zhèjiànyīfuduōshaoqiánHow much is this piece of clothing?
- 这条裤子多少钱？zhètiáokùziduōshaoqiánHow much are these pants?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “At the store”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “few” in Chinese?
“Few” in Chinese is 少, pinyin shǎo.
What does 少 mean?
少 (shǎo) means “few, little”.
How do you write 少?
少 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 少?
少 is read shǎo. Tones: shǎo — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“few” in the lesson “At the store”
This word is from the topic “Food and shopping” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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