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小 — small; tiny; few

small; tiny; few; young

Pinyin
xiǎo
Strokes
3
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
required

How to write 小: 3 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

小 — 3 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 小

Words with 小 in the HSK syllabus: 39

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 小xiǎosmall; tiny; few; youngHSK 1
  2. 小朋友xiǎopéngyǒuchild; kidHSK 1
  3. 小时xiǎoshíhourHSK 1
  4. 小学xiǎoxuéelementary school; primary schoolHSK 1
  5. 小学生xiǎoxuéshēngprimary school student; schoolchild; beginnerHSK 1
  6. 从小cóngxiǎofrom childhood; from a young ageHSK 2
  7. 小孩儿xiǎoháir—HSK 2
  8. 小时候xiǎoshíhouin one's childhoodHSK 2
  9. 大小dàxiǎolarge and small; size; adults and childrenHSK 3
  10. 小区xiǎoqūhousing estate; community; neighborhood; cellHSK 3
  11. 小心xiǎoxīnto be careful; to take careHSK 3
  12. 小吃xiǎochīstreet food; snackHSK 4
  13. 小伙子xiǎohuǒziyoung man; young fellow; ladHSK 4
  14. 小说xiǎoshuōnovel; fictionHSK 4
  15. 小组xiǎozǔgroupHSK 4
  16. 胆小dǎnxiǎocowardice; timidHSK 5
  17. 缩小suōxiǎoto reduce; to decrease; to shrinkHSK 5
  18. 小姐xiǎojiěyoung lady; miss; prostituteHSK 5
  19. 小型xiǎoxíngsmall scale; small sizeHSK 5
  20. 小于xiǎoyúless than, <HSK 5
  21. 微小wēixiǎominute; infinitesimalHSK 6
  22. 小麦xiǎomàiwheatHSK 6
  23. 小气xiǎoqistingy; miserly; narrow-minded; pettyHSK 6
  24. 小偷儿xiǎotōurerhua form of 小偷[xiao3 tou1]HSK 6
  25. 大街小巷dàjiē-xiǎoxiànggreat streets and small alleys; everywhere in the cityHSK 7–9
  26. 大惊小怪dàjīng-xiǎoguàito make a fuss about nothingHSK 7–9
  27. 大同小异dàtóng-xiǎoyìvirtually the same; differing only on small pointsHSK 7–9
  28. 胆小鬼dǎnxiǎoguǐcowardHSK 7–9
  29. 渺小miǎoxiǎominute; tiny; negligible; insignificantHSK 7–9
  30. 狭小xiáxiǎonarrowHSK 7–9
  31. 小菜一碟xiǎocài-yìdiéa small appetizer; a piece of cake; very easyHSK 7–9
  32. 小丑xiǎochǒuclownHSK 7–9
  33. 小费xiǎofèitip; gratuityHSK 7–9
  34. 小看xiǎokànto look down on; to underestimateHSK 7–9
  35. 小康xiǎokāngXiaokang, a Confucian near-ideal state of society, second only to Datong 大同[Da4 tong2]HSK 7–9
  36. 小品xiǎopǐnshort, simple literary or artistic creation; essayHSK 7–9
  37. 小人xiǎorénperson of low social status; I, me; nasty personHSK 7–9
  38. 小提琴xiǎotíqínfiddle; violinHSK 7–9
  39. 小心翼翼xiǎoxīn-yìyìcautious; careful; prudentHSK 7–9

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.