Meaning
small; tiny; few; young
Chinese: 尺寸、数量或年龄小。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xiao” becomes a different word in each tone. 小 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 小时xiǎo shíhour
- 小姐xiǎo jieyoung lady; miss; (slang) prostitute
- 小学xiǎo xuéelementary school; primary school
- 小朋友xiǎo péng yǒuchild; kid (used to refer to a child, or by an adult to address a child, or, in Taiwan, to refer to sb's own child)
- 小学生xiǎo xué shēngprimary school student; schoolchild; (fig.) beginner
Example Sentence
这只小猫很可爱。Zhè zhī xiǎo māo hěn kě ài.This little cat is very cute.
这Zhèthis只zhīonly小猫xiǎo māokitten很hěnvery可爱kě àiadorable。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Three short strokes like tiny specks or grains, suggesting something ‘small’.
A way to remember it
A few little specks — small.
Easy to confuse with
- 少‘Few’: 小 with one extra slanting stroke.