View source for Comparing "shao" and "xiao"

Both 少 and 小 can translated to mean “little”. In this sense 少 means “little” as small in quantity or number, while 小 means “little” as small in size or magnitude. Yet, each has distinct uses as 少 can also mean “seldom”, “few”, or “less”, and 小 can also mean “young”, “minor”, or “petty”. 

{{SimilarWordsCol1|少|shǎo|small (quantity or number), seldom, few, less|adjective|flexible}}
{{SimilarWordsCol2|小|xiǎo|small (size or magnitude), young, minor, petty|adjective|flexible}}
{{SimilarWordsPageInfo|A2|HSK2|ASV4567}}
{{2021-HSK|HSK2}}

== To express "small" (size) or "young" use 小 ==

These are fairly obvious, because most of them work as direct translations from Chinese to English.

=== Common Phrases ===

<div class="liju dapei">
* 小孩儿 <span class="pinyin">xiǎoháir</span><span class="trans">little child</span>
* 小问题 <span class="pinyin">xiǎo wèntí</span><span class="trans">small problem</span>
* 小狗 <span class="pinyin">xiǎogǒu</span><span class="trans">small dog</span>
</div>

=== Example Sentences ===

<div class="liju">

* 我 有 一 只 <em>小狗</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ yǒu yī zhǐ <em> xiǎogǒu </em>.</span><span class="trans">I have a puppy.</span>
* 这里 有 一 个 <em>小孩儿</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Zhèlǐ yǒu yī gè <em> xiǎoháir </em>.</span><span class="trans">Here is a little child.</span>
* 这 是 一 个 <em>小 问题</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè shì yī gè <em> xiǎo wèntí </em>.</span><span class="trans">This is a small problem.</span>
</div>

== To express "small" in magnitude learn set phrases ==

These are a bit tricky because they don't translate directly into English using the word "small" or little, but you nevertheless have to learn them. We won't cover all of these phrases here; we'll just share some of the more common ones.

=== Common Phrases ===

<div class="liju dapei">
* 声音 很 <em>小</em><span class="pinyin">Shēngyīn hěn <em> xiǎo </em></span><span class="trans">Very little sound</span>
* 雨 很 <em>小</em><span class="pinyin">Yǔ hěn <em> xiǎo </em></span><span class="trans">Very little rain</span>
</div>

Don't use 少 for these meanings.

=== Example Sentences ===

<div class="liju">
* 雨 很 <em>小</em>，不用 带 伞。 <span class="pinyin">Yǔ hěn <em> xiǎo </em>, bùyòng dài sǎn.</span><span class="trans">It rained so little that I didn't need to bring an umbrella.</span>
* 声音 太 <em>小</em> 了，我 听 不到。 <span class="pinyin">Shēngyīn tài <em> xiǎo </em> le, wǒ tīng bùdào.</span><span class="trans">The sound is so small that I can't hear it.</span>
* 这 双 鞋子 我 买 <em>小</em> 了。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè shuāng xiézi wǒ mǎi <em> xiǎo </em> le.</span><span class="trans">I bought these shoes small.</span>
</div>

== To express "young" as an adjective use 小 ==

This one you need to watch out for, because as a speaker of English, you're going to want to translate "young" as 年轻 (niánqīng), but in fact 年轻 (niánqīng) only works as the opposite of *old*. So if you just want to say you're slightly younger than someone else (maybe by a year), you need to use 小. If you use 年轻, you're implying that the other person is *old*.

=== Example Sentences ===

<div class="liju">
* 我 比 你 <em>小</em> 两 岁。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ bǐ nǐ <em> xiǎo </em> liǎng suì.</span><span class="trans">I'm two years younger than you.</span>
* 她 喜欢 比 她 <em>大</em>的 男孩。 <span class="pinyin">Tā xǐhuan bǐ tā <em> dà </em> de nánhái.</span><span class="trans">She likes boys who are older than her.</span>
* 你 妹妹 还 很 <em>小</em> 吧？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ mèimei hái hěn <em> xiǎo </em> ba?</span><span class="trans">Your sister is still very young, right?</span>
* 谁 是 最 <em>小</em>的 孩子？ <span class="pinyin">Shéi shì zuì <em> xiǎo </em> de háizi?</span><span class="trans">Who is the youngest child?</span>
</div>

=== 少 only means "young" when used in certain nouns ===

Meanwhile, 少 can also be used to mean "young," but *only in set words* which you'll learn later, such as 少年 (shàonián) or 少女 (shàonǚ). In these words, 少 is pronounced fourth tone ("shào") rather than the usual third tone ("shǎo").

== To say "few" or "small" in quantity or number, use 少 ==

=== Common Phrases ===

<div class="liju dapei">
* 朋友很少
* 钱很少
* 人很少
</div>

Obviously, you can't use 小 for these meanings.

=== Example Sentences ===

<div class="liju">
* 我的钱太少了。
* 今天来的人很少。
* 我的朋友很少。
</div>

== To say "seldom" or "rarely", use 少 ==

=== Pattern ===

<div class="jiegou">
（很）少 + Verb Phrase
</div>

=== Example Sentences ===

<div class="liju">
* 最近 我 <em>很少</em> 出去。 <span class="pinyin">Zuìjìn wǒ hěn <em> hěn shǎo </em> chūqù.</span><span class="trans">I rarely go out these days.</span>
* 老板 <em>很少</em> 生气。 <span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em> hěn shǎo </em> shēngqì.</span><span class="trans">The boss rarely gets angry.</span>
* 他 <em>很少</em> 吃 肉。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em> hěn shǎo </em> chī ròu.</span><span class="trans">He seldom eats meat.</span>
* 你 <em>少</em> 吃 肉。 <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em> shǎo </em> chī ròu.</span><span class="trans">You eat less meat.</span>
</div>

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Websites ===

* [https://zh.hinative.com/questions/18536734 "小" 和 "少" 和有什么不一样? ] (HiNative)
* [https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/2059931016792977507.html 少和小有什么区别?] (百度知道)