Chinese–EnglishWith examples

少数

shǎo shù · shao shu

Traditional 少數

HSK 2

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. small number
  2. few
  3. minority
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In a conversation

0:19 cartoon

Do you like Mondays?

  1. Dengdeng

    我(wǒ)问(wèn)了(le)十个(shígè)同事(tóngshì)：你们(nǐmen)喜欢(xǐhuan)星期一(xīngqīyī)吗(ma)？

    I asked ten colleagues: do you like Mondays?

  2. Liangliang

    有(yǒu)几个(jǐge)说(shuō)喜欢(xǐhuan)？

    How many said yes?

  3. Dengdeng

    只有(zhǐyǒu)少数(shǎoshù)人(rén)。就(jiù)一个(yīgè)。

    Only a few. Just one person.

  4. Liangliang

    是(shì)谁(shéi)？

    Who was it?

  5. Dengdeng

    是(shì)老板(lǎobǎn)。他(tā)说(shuō)他(tā)喜欢(xǐhuan)上班(shàngbān)。

    The boss. He said he likes going to work.

  6. Liangliang

    老板(lǎobǎn)当然(dāngrán)是(shì)少数(shǎoshù)。

    Of course the boss is one of the few.

Tap a word for its meaning in this line. The characters’ voices are computer-generated.

In a sentence

2 examples
01

只(zhǐ)有(yǒu)少(shǎo)数(shù)的(de)人(rén)才(cái)懂(dǒng)了(le)我(wǒ)的(de)意(yì)思(si)。

Only a few people understood me.

Tatoeba: Chinese by shanghainese · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

02

为(wèi)了(le)少(shǎo)数(shù)人(rén)而(ér)改(gǎi)变(biàn)多(duō)数(shù)人(rén)习(xí)以(yǐ)为(wéi)常(cháng)的(de)事(shì)物(wù)是(shì)一(yì)种(zhǒng)愚(yú)蠢(chǔn)的(de)做(zuò)法(fǎ)。

It is ridiculous to change what the majority are accustomed to just for the sake of a small number of people.

Tatoeba: Chinese by jan_OkulaJu · English by jan_OkulaJu · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

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How to write

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Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

The characters

Explore individually
少
shǎo

few; less

数
shǔ

to count; to count as; to regard as

Individual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of a whole word.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

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