xiǎo
small
我叫小明。
Wǒ jiào xiǎo míng.
My name is Xiaoming.
我今年十岁了。
Wǒ jīn nián shí suì le.
I am ten years old this year.
我喜欢吃冰淇淋。
Wǒ xǐ huan chī bīng qí lín.
I like to eat ice cream.
我小时候很调皮。
wǒ xiǎo shíhòu hěn tiáopí.
I was very naughty when I was a child.
他和小明是好朋友。
tā hé xiǎomíng shì hǎo péngyou.
He and Xiaoming are good friends.
这本书很小。
zhè běn shū hěn xiǎo.
This book is very small.
少 (shǎo)
few, little
微 (wēi)
tiny, slight
幼 (yòu)
young, immature
少 (shǎo)
few, little
微 (wēi)
tiny, slight
大 (dà)
big
多 (duō)
many
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The Chinese character 小 (xiǎo) for "small" is composed of two parts: the radical 少 (shǎo) and a phonetic component 幺 (yāo). The radical 少, which means "few" or "little", indicates the general meaning of the character. The phonetic component 幺, which is pronounced similarly to 小, provides the pronunciation.The character 小 has a long history, dating back to the oracle bone script of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In the oracle bone script, 小 was written as a simple horizontal line with a dot below it. This form is thought to represent a small object or a person.Over time, the character 小 evolved into its current form. The radical 少 was added to the left side of the character to indicate its meaning, and the phonetic component 幺 was added to the right side to provide its pronunciation.The character 小 is used in a variety of words and phrases to express the idea of "small" or "little". For example, it can be used to describe the size of an object, the age of a person, or the amount of something. It can also be used in a figurative sense to mean "insignificant" or "unimportant".The character 小 is a common character in Chinese, and it is important for HSK learners to be familiar with its meaning and pronunciation.
