Kanji 小 — "Small"
Here is what 小 means, how it is read, what it is built from, and a story that makes "Small" stick.
Also means: Little
How it is read
しょう
the reading borrowed from Chinese — usually appears in compound words
ちい.さい, こ-, お-, さ-
the native Japanese reading — usually appears when the kanji stands alone
How to remember it
Kanji are not random strokes. Learn the parts and the whole becomes easy. Put the parts together into one picture. The stranger it is, the harder it is to forget.
Eight tiny Hooks scattered on the ground — they're so Small you have to watch your step!
- 亅 Hook
This is a Hook, like the kind you see on a fishing hook.
- 八 Eight
Component number Eight looks like two legs stretched straight out.
Words that use 小
12 of 26 words in the app that contain this kanji — the most common ones first.
- 小父さん おじさん (hon.) middle-aged gentleman, uncle
- 小さい ちいさい small
- 小さな ちいさな small, little
- 小学校 しょうがっこう elementary school
- 小説 しょうせつ novel
- 小学生 しょうがくせい elementary school pupil
- 小屋 こや hut, cabin, shed
- 小鳥 ことり small bird
- 小説家 しょうせつか novelist
- 小便 しょうべん (col) urine, piss
- 小遣い こづかい pocket money, allowance
- 小銭 こぜに coins, small change
Want 小 to still be there next month?
Reading it once is not remembering it. The app brings each kanji back right before you would have forgotten it.
