字 Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

few, little

On’yomi ショウ
Kun’yomi すく.ない、すこ.し

Origin

The character 少 shows a small shape (小, meaning "small") with an extra stroke (丿) that emphasizes division or reduction. Together, these parts create the idea of something becoming smaller or being divided into a smaller amount, which is why the character means "few" or "little." The visual simplicity of the character itself — using just a few strokes — also mirrors the meaning of "scarceness."

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

少 4 strokes

Components

  • 小 radical
  • 丿 radical

Common words

  • 希少 きしょう scarce; rare
  • 減少 げんしょう decrease; reduction
  • 最少 さいしょう fewest; least
  • 少尉 しょうい second lieutenant; sublieutenant
  • 少し すこし a little; a bit
  • 少額 しょうがく small sum (of money); small amount
  • 少佐 しょうさ major; lieutenant commander
  • 少将 しょうしょう major general; rear admiral

Related kanji

Same radical

Reference

Strokes
4
Kangxi radical
42
Grade
Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank
#287 (newspapers)
Former JLPT
level 4
Unicode
U+05C11