小 (xiǎo): small, tiny, few
小 (xiǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “small.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亅 (structural) and 八 (structural). It ranks #83 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 小 dividing 八 by a line 亅. Its radical form 小 (small) appears in many related characters such as 少 (shǎo, few), 尚 (shàng, still), 尔 (ěr, thus).
Definitions
- small
- tiny
- few
Etymology & Origin
ideographicDividing 八 by a line 亅
Decomposition: ⿻亅八 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 小 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 小
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 小时noun | xiǎo shí | hour | 1 |
| 小姐noun | xiǎo jie | young lady | 5 |
| 小心verb/adjective | xiǎo xīn | to be careful | 3 |
| 小伙子noun | xiǎo huǒ zi | (coll.) young man | 4 |
| 小孩儿noun | xiǎo hái r | erhua variant of 小孩 | 2 |
| 小组noun | xiǎo zǔ | group | 4 |
| 小时候noun | xiǎo shí hou | in one's childhood | 2 |
| 小说noun | xiǎo shuō | novel | 4 |
| 小朋友noun | xiǎo péng yǒu | child | 1 |
| 大小noun | dà xiǎo | large and small | 3 |
| 从小adverb | cóng xiǎo | from childhood | 2 |
| 小学noun | xiǎo xué | elementary school | 1 |
| 缩小verb | suō xiǎo | to reduce | 5 |
| 小型adjective | xiǎo xíng | small scale | 5 |
| 胆小adjective | dǎn xiǎo | cowardice | 5 |
| 小气adjective | xiǎo qì | stingy | 6 |
| 微小adjective | wēi xiǎo | minute (i.e. extremely small) | 6 |
| 小吃noun | xiǎo chī | street food | 4 |
| 小麦noun | xiǎo mài | wheat | 6 |
| 小区noun | xiǎo qū | housing estate | 3 |
| 小学生noun | xiǎo xué shēng | primary school student | 1 |
| 小偷儿noun | xiǎo tōu r | erhua form of 小偷 | 6 |
| 小于verb | xiǎo yú | less than, < | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 小子 | xiǎo zǐ | (literary) youngster |
| 小孩noun | xiǎo hái | child |
| 小丑noun | xiǎo chǒu | clown |
| 小镇noun | xiǎo zhèn | small town |
| 小孩子noun | xiǎo hái zi | child |
| 小偷noun | xiǎo tōu | thief |
| 小事 | xiǎo shì | trifle |
| 胆小鬼noun | dǎn xiǎo guǐ | coward |
| 小屋noun | xiǎo wū | cabin |
| 小声 | xiǎo shēng | in a low voice |
| 小费noun | xiǎo fèi | tip |
| 小小 | xiǎo xiǎo | very small |
| 小鬼noun | xiǎo guǐ | little demon (term of endearment for a child) |
| 小鸟noun | xiǎo niǎo | small bird |
| 小伙noun | xiǎo huǒ | young guy |
小 appears in 129 compound words: 81 as the first character, 12 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 小 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (64)
to use a talented person in an insignificant position; to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
to use a talented person in an insignificant position; to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut
Showing 12 of 64 idioms containing 小.
Example Sentences
小字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
xiǎo zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
Small characters may be difficult to write, but their meaning is quite interesting.
汪小菲过年带子逛饶河夜市 脱口“台湾”赶紧加...
wāng xiǎo 菲 guò nián dài zǐ guàng ráo hé yè shì tuō kǒu tái wān gǎn jǐn jiā . . .
Wang Xiaofei took her son to visit Raohe Night Market during the New Year and blurted out "Taiwan" quickly added...
【中环解密】日睡8小时被炒 投行分析师兴讼
zhōng huán jiě mì rì shuì 8 xiǎo shí bèi chǎo tóu háng fēn xī shī xīng sòng
【Central Decryption】Sleeping for 8 hours a day was fired and investment bank analysts filed a lawsuit
年味上墙!静安这幅“邻里新画卷”,让老小区变成了“..
nián wèi shàng qiáng ! jìng ān zhè fú lín lǐ xīn huà juǎn , ràng lǎo xiǎo qū biàn chéng le . .
New Year's flavor on the wall! Jing'an's "new picture of the neighborhood" has turned the old community into a ":
不到30小时连夺3金!他们的每一滴热泪,都写着“值...
bù dào 3 0 xiǎo shí lián duó 3 jīn ! tā men de měi yī dī rè lèi , dōu xiě zhe zhí . . .
Win 3 gold medals in less than 30 hours! Every drop of their tears reads "Worth...
新春走基层|喜迎10名小马宝宝,一天8台手术——他..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng xǐ yíng 1 0 míng xiǎo mǎ bǎo bǎo , yī tiān 8 tái shǒu shù — — tā . .
Welcome 10 pony babies, 8 surgeries a day - he:
小王，你是哪年生的？
Xiǎo Wáng, nǐ shì nǎ nián shēng de?
Wang, what year were you born?
您能把电视开小声点吗？
Nín néng bǎ diànshì kāi xiǎoshēng diǎn ma?
Can you turn the TV down?
你读完那本小说了吗？
Nǐ dú wán nà běn xiǎoshuō le ma?
Have you finished reading that novel?
我能和布朗小姐说话吗？
Wǒ néng hé Bùlǎng xiǎojie shuōhuà ma?
May I talk to Ms. Brown?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 小 (xiǎo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 小 and 大?
How many strokes does 小 have?
What is the radical of 小?
What are the components of 小?
What are common words containing 小?
What characters sound the same as 小 (xiǎo)?
Is 小 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 小 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.