少 shǎo — few; young · English

少

shǎo

few; young

At a glance · 少

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从小从丿，本义为数量不多，引申为年少。隶楷作「少」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为不多，读shào时指年轻。

Structure

会意字，从小从丿，表微小、不多。

At a glance

Pinyinshǎo

Radical小

Strokes4

UnicodeU+5C11

Character type会意

Theme数术

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English few; young Few or little; also young (shào).

Français peu; jeune Peu ; aussi jeune (shào).

Español poco; joven Poco ; también joven (shào).

العربية قليل؛ شاب قليل؛ ويُقرأ shào للشاب.

Русский мало; молодой Мало; также молодой (shào).

Common words

多少duō shǎohow many
少年shào niányouth

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