少 (shǎo) — few / little / a small amount

少 (shǎo)

An adjective meaning "few," "a little," or "not many." It describes small quantities. Its antonym is 多 (duō), meaning "many." Note: 少 (shǎo, few) is different from 小 (xiǎo, small in size).

Meanings

1. [adjective] Few, a small number of (for countable things).
2. [adjective] A little, a small amount of (for uncountable things).

Example Sentences

今天来的人很少。 Jīntiān lái de rén hěn shǎo. Very few people came today.

我只有一点点时间，时间很少。 Wǒ zhǐ yǒu yīdiǎndiǎn shíjiān, shíjiān hěn shǎo. I only have a little time, there is very little time.

你吃得太少了，多吃一点。 Nǐ chī de tài shǎo le, duō chī yīdiǎn. You ate too little, eat a bit more.

这里的雨水很少。 Zhèlǐ de yǔshuǐ hěn shǎo. There is very little rainfall here.

Collocations

Memory Hook

Antonym of 多 (duō, many). 少 looks like 小 (xiǎo, small) with one stroke removed — even smaller than small means there is very little.