Log in
4 strokes
Frequency: 287
JLPT N4
Grade 2

Meanings

few
little

Readings

On — Chinese-derived reading, usually for compounds
ショウ
Kun — Native Japanese reading, usually for standalone words
すく.ない
すこ.し

Common Words

寡し
些し
Adverb
Freq #133
1

a little; a bit; a small amount; a few; some; slightly; somewhat

Examples
子供に少し愛情を注いで見給え、すると君におびただしい愛情が戻ってくる。
Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.
2

a little while; a short time; a moment; a minute

Examples
少しテレビを見てもいいですか。
Do you mind if I watch TV for a while?
3

a little way; a short distance

くな
尠い
寡い
~い Adj.
Freq #393
1

few; little; small (amount); low; scarce; insufficient; seldom; rare

Examples
この病気に勝てる人は少ない
Not many survive this disease.
うすこ
Expression
Freq #761
1

a bit more; a bit longer

Examples
もう少しケーキを召し上がりませんか。
Will you have some more cake?
すこしでも
Expression
Freq #1266
1

even a little; any at all; if only a little; no matter how little

ょうじょ
小女
Noun
Freq #1306
1

girl (usu. between 7 and 17); young lady

2

Archaic

female between 17 and 20 years old (ritsuryō period)

ょうねん
Noun
Freq #1348
1

boy

Examples
少年は木に自分の名前を刻んだ。
The boy carved his name on the tree.
2

Usu. in legal contexts

juvenile; child

しょう
Freq #1575
1

Adverb (fukushi); Nouns which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

a little; some; somewhat; slightly; to some degree; to some extent

Examples
今朝は空気が多少冷たい。
The air feels somewhat cold this morning.
スープに多少の塩が必要だと思う。
I think the soup needs a bit of salt.
2

Common noun

amount; quantity; number

少しづつ
こしず (少しずつ)
すこしづつ (少しづつ)
Adverb
Freq #1771
1

little by little; bit by bit

Examples
彼は少しずつよくなっています。
He is getting better bit by bit.
ょうしょう
少少
小々
小小
Adverb
Noun
Freq #1840
1

a little; a bit; a small amount; a few; a pinch; some

Examples
ぼくは少々君に腹が立っているんだ。
I'm a little angry with you.
2

a little while; a short time; a moment; a minute; a second

ほんのすこし
Expression
Adverb
Freq #3340
1

just a little

Examples
私はほんの少しのところで飛行機に乗り遅れてしまった。
I missed the airplane by a minute.

Memory Mnemonics

Keywords

The core concepts or meanings associated with this specific kanji.

few

Constituents

The visual building blocks used to craft this character's story.

drop
little
small

Mnemonic Stories

The little alien’s spaceship ran on drop-sized black holes. ‘Only a few left!’ he panicked, feeding one into the engine. It exploded into a galaxy of glitter, leaving him with few options.

Few usually refers to 3. To emphasize this, we can underline the 3 strokes of little.

🎓

Master this Kanji through Practice

Don't just read about it—lock it in. Our spaced-repetition kanji quiz uses the same mnemonics to help you remember keywords and characters forever.