DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
少
Characters in this entry
- 少
- shǎo · few, less, inadequate
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3 · shao3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link1same-tone record
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 18 senses · 2 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
siu2 · siu3
Cantonese word readings for 少. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- few; little in number; less; not many
- weak; inadequate; insufficient
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 小 (xiǎo, “small; tiny”)
- to lack; to be short of; to be deficient
- to reduce (the amount or extent); to weaken; to lose; to stop; to cease
- (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to despise; to look down; to belittle
- slightly; moderately; a little; a bit
- seldom; rarely; infrequently
- in a little while; in a moment
- (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang, neologism) slightly; somewhat
- 5th tetragram of the Taixuanjing (𝌊)
character
- young; youthful; juvenile
- later in a sequence; younger; youngest
- childhood; youth; young period
- young man; youngster; junior
- (historical) deputy; assistant
- (historical) young master of a rich family
- a surname
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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