Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 5
少 few, a little
- Meaning
- few, a little
- On reading
- ショウ
- Kun reading
- すく(ない)・すこ(し)
Memory hook
小 (small) with a slash taken off it. Small, with a bit sliced away: even less. ショウ in compounds, すく(ない) few or すこ(し) a little.
Words that use 少
少し
すこし
a little
少ない
すくない
few
How to write 少
Stroke order · 4 strokes
1
2
3
4
- 1. The vertical through the centre, ending in a hook.
- 2. The sweep down to the left.
- 3. The diagonal down to the right.
- 4. The sweep down to the left.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
少 is taught on day 12 of the kanji course, alongside 多 高 安, with two writing passes and a short quiz.