小 xiǎo small

源How it came to be

Three specks, the middle one a little longer. The old dictionary reads it as eight dividing around a stroke: a thing broken into pieces too small to name.

用How it is used

• Small / little / young, the opposite of 大 (dà) - 小狗 (xiǎo gǒu) a puppy, 小心 (xiǎoxīn) be careful (lit. small-heart), 大狗 (dà gǒu) a big dog.
• As a friendly prefix on a name it means young - 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) young Wang; contrasts with 老 (lǎo) for older people.

字Characters built with 小

• 愿 wish
• 原 original
• 孙 grandchild
• 源 spring
• 逊 humble
• 隙 crack

词Words with 小

• 小时xiǎoshíhourHSK 1
• 小学xiǎoxuéelementary schoolHSK 1
• 小学生xiǎoxuéshēngprimary school studentHSK 1
• 小朋友xiǎopéngyǒuchildHSK 1
• 从小cóngxiǎofrom childhoodHSK 2
• 小孩儿xiǎoháirchild; kid (spoken, erhua)HSK 2
• 小时候xiǎoshíhouin one's childhoodHSK 2
• 小心xiǎoxīntake careHSK 3
• 大小dàxiǎosizeHSK 3
• 小区xiǎoqūhousing estateHSK 3
• 小伙子xiǎohuǒziyoung manHSK 4
• 小说xiǎoshuōnovelHSK 4
• 小吃xiǎochīsnackHSK 4
• 小组xiǎozǔgroupHSK 4
• 小姐xiǎojiěmissHSK 5
• 小于xiǎoyúless than, <HSK 5
• 小型xiǎoxíngsmall scaleHSK 5
• 缩小suōxiǎoto reduceHSK 5
• 胆小dǎnxiǎocowardiceHSK 5
• 小偷儿xiǎotōurthief (spoken, erhua)HSK 6
• 小气xiǎoqistingyHSK 6
• 小麦xiǎomàiwheatHSK 6
• 微小wēixiǎominute (i.e. extremely small)HSK 6
• 大惊小怪dàjīng-xiǎoguàito make a fuss about nothing (idiom)HSK 7
• 小人xiǎorénperson of low social status (old)HSK 7
• 小康xiǎokāngXiaokang, a Confucian near-ideal state of society, second only to Datong 大同HSK 7
• 小看xiǎokànto look down onHSK 7
• 小费xiǎofèitipHSK 7
• 大同小异dàtóng-xiǎoyìvirtually the sameHSK 8
• 大街小巷dàjiē-xiǎoxiànggreat streets and small alleys (idiom)HSK 8
• 小丑xiǎochǒuclownHSK 8
• 小品xiǎopǐnshort, simple literary or artistic creationHSK 8
• 小心翼翼xiǎoxīn-yìyìcautiousHSK 8
• 小提琴xiǎotíqínfiddleHSK 8
• 小菜一碟xiǎocài-yìdiéa small appetizerHSK 8
• 渺小miǎoxiǎominuteHSK 9
• 狭小xiáxiǎonarrowHSK 9
• 胆小鬼dǎnxiǎoguǐcowardHSK 9

句Example sentences

• 我有一只小狗。 Wǒ yǒu yī zhī xiǎogǒu.I've got a little dog.
• 他还是小孩子。 Tā háishi xiǎoháizi.He's still a child.
• 小女孩先上车。 Xiǎo nǚhái xiān shàngchē.The little girl gets on the bus first.
• 那个小孩好可爱。 Nàge xiǎohái hǎo kě'ài.That child is really cute.