Kanji 小 - small, little
Kanji 小 means small, little. Onyomi readings are ショウ (shou) . Kunyomi readings are ちい (chii), こ (ko), お (o).
JLPT N5Grade 1
Stroke order animation (3 strokes)
Stroke Order Diagram
Each box shows the kanji up to that stroke. Red dot indicates stroke start point.
Readings of 小
音On'yomi (音読み)
ショウ(shou)
訓Kun'yomi (訓読み)
ちい(chii)
こ(ko)
お(o)
小 in different fonts
Vocabulary with 小
| Audio | English  | Romaji | Japanese | Kana |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| small | chiisai | 小さい | ちいさい | |
| elementary school | shougakkou | 小学校 | しょうがっこう |
Common words containing the kanji 小
More Information about 小
Common words with 小 (shō/chii/ko/o)
- 小さい (chiisai)（ちいさい）: small; little
- 小さな (chiisana)（ちいさな）: small (used before nouns): 小さな家 (chiisana ie)
- 小学生 (shōgakusei)（しょうがくせい）: elementary school student
- 小学校 (shōgakkō)（しょうがっこう）: elementary school
- 小説 (shōsetsu)（しょうせつ）: novel; fiction
- 小川 (ogawa／kogawa)（おがわ／こがわ）: brook, small stream
- 小雨 (kosame)（こさめ）: light rain
- 小皿 (kozara)（こざら）: small plate
ちいさい (chiisai) vs ちいさな (chiisana) — what’s the difference?
ちいさい (chiisai) is a regular i-adjective: この箱は小さい (kono hako wa chiisai) (This box is small). ちいさな (chiisana) is the prenominal form used before nouns: 小さな箱 (chiisana hako) (a small box).
Prefix こ- (ko-)／お- (o-) with 小 (shō)
こ- (ko-) and お- (o-) can mark smallness in some nouns:
- 小鳥 (kotori)（ことり）: small bird
- 小石 (koishi)（こいし）: pebble
- 小包 (kozutsumi)（こづつみ）: small parcel
- 小道 (komichi)（こみち）: lane, path
- 小川 (ogawa)（おがわ）: brook (fixed reading with お (o)).
Don’t confuse 小 (shō) (small) with 少 (shō/sukunai) (few/little amount)
- 小 (shō) = size: 小さい犬 (chiisai inu) (a small dog).
- 少 (shō) = quantity: 少ないお金 (sukunai okane) (little money / not much). The shapes are similar, but 少 (shō) has a small dot-like stroke above.
Cultural notes with 小 (shō)
- School levels: 小学校 → 中学校 → 高校 (shōgakkō → chūgakkō → kōkō) (elementary → junior high → high school).
- Seasonal word: 小春日和 (koharubiyori)（こはるびより） = warm, calm late autumn weather (literally “little spring”).
