少 — few; less; to lack
few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop; seldom
- Pinyin
- shǎo · shào
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK level
- HSK 1
- Handwriting
- required
This character has more than one reading — shǎo, shào — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 少: 4 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.
Words with 少 in the HSK syllabus: 15
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.
- 多少duōshaohow much?; how many?; what number?HSK 1
- 少shǎofew; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop; seldomHSK 1
- 减少jiǎnshǎoto lessen; to decrease; to reduce; to lowerHSK 4
- 缺少quēshǎolack; shortage of; shortfall; to be short; to lackHSK 4
- 少见shǎojiànrare; seldom seen; it's a rare pleasure to see youHSK 4
- 少量shǎoliànga smidgen; a little bit; a fewHSK 4
- 少数shǎoshùsmall number; few; minorityHSK 4
- 少年shàoniánearly youth; youngster; youth; young manHSK 4
- 至少zhìshǎoat least; leastHSK 4
- 少儿shào’érchildHSK 6
- 必不可少bìbùkěshǎoabsolutely necessary; indispensable; essentialHSK 7–9
- 或多或少huòduō-huòshǎomore or lessHSK 7–9
- 少不了shǎobuliǎocannot do without; to be unavoidableHSK 7–9
- 少女shàonǚgirl; young ladyHSK 7–9
- 稀少xīshǎosparse; rareHSK 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.