小 means “small, little”

ちいさい · chiisai

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ちいさい, こ-, お-, さ-

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ショウ

JLPT N5 · Taught in grade 1 · 3 strokes

The story

Three small strokes dividing something into tiny pieces. In Japan, smallness is an art form: 小さな (chiisana) things are treasured. From 小鉢 (kobachi, small side dishes) in kaiseki cuisine to 小説 (shousetsu, novels; literally "small talk"), the beauty of the compact is deeply valued. 小京都 (shou-Kyoto) is the endearing name for towns that remind people of a miniature Kyoto.

Used in 小学校 (shougakkou, elementary school), 小説 (shousetsu, novel), and 小鳥 (kotori, small bird)

Where it comes from

Pictographic (象形文字): Small grains or particles being divided.

Depicts something being divided into tiny parts. The three strokes represent smallness: the central stroke flanked by two diminishing dots.

To remember it: Three little strokes, so small they barely take up space!

Words with 小

• 小学 (しょうがく, shougaku): elementary school
• 大小 (だいしょう, daishou): large and small
• 大小 (だいしょう, daishou): large and small / size

Example sentences

• 小さい花が咲いています。 Small flowers are blooming.
• 小学校は近くにあります。 The elementary school is nearby.

Kanji that look like 小

• 少 (few/little): 小 has a vertical stroke with two dots: small size; 少 slants the stroke: something reduced

More from Measurement & Size

• 短 short
• 広 wide
• 狭 narrow
• 重 heavy
• 軽 light (weight)
• 深 deep
• 浅 shallow
• 厚 thick
• 薄 thin
• 低 low
• 遅 slow
• 量 quantity

Learn 小 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.