FEW    少少

SMALL in QUANTITY.
NOT MANYHARDLY ANYSCARCELY ANYA SMALL NUMBER OFA SMALL AMOUNT OFONE OR TWOA HANDFUL OFLITTLE
Old Chinese Criteria
1. The current general word referring to the relatively small number or the small amount of something is shǎo 少 (ant. duō 多 "many, much"). 2. Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large ( 五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout. 3. Fá 乏 and kuì 匱 (ant. zú 足 "enough") refer specifically to the shortage of something one definitely needs more of. 4. Xī 希 / 稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution. 5. Jiǎn 減 (ant. zēng 增 "increase") refers specifically to the reduction of the amount of the number of something. See also DIMINISH.
Modern Chinese Criteria
少 微少 個別 零星 點滴 稀 寡 鮮 半點 無幾 有數 有限 一二 三五 區區 半點 些個 些子 些些 一絲 紋絲 一星兒 星星 少許 些須 些許 幾希 蠅頭 戔戔 一點點 點兒 一點兒 一些兒 這麼點兒 那麼點兒 這麼些兒 一丁點兒 rough draft to BEGIN TO identify synonym group members for analysis, based on CL etc. 18.11.2003. CH ／
Hyponym
  • RARE　HAPPEN FEW TIMES ONLY. (anc: 7/0, child: 0)
  • STRANGE　FEW:rare AND NOT EXPECTED. (anc: 7/0, child: 2)
  • INSUFFICIENTnew-1d4557be-22a2-483f-8557-be22a2d83f3f　FEW OR LITTLE IN-RELATION-TO what is NEEDED. (anc: 7/0, child: 0)
Antonym
  • ABUNDANTHAVE OR BE INTENSELY MANY, TYPICALLY DESIRED, THINGS. 
  • MANYBIG in QUANTITY.
See also
  • REDUCECHANGE something so as to CAUSE it to BECOME MORE FEW:fewer.
  • LITTLESMALL in QUANTITY of a SUBSTANCE.
Hypernym
  • QUANTITY　DEGREE of being MANY OR FEW that CAN be MEASURED OR COUNTED. (anc: 5/0, child: 3)
  • DEGREE　FEATURE of MORE or LESS. (anc: 4/0, child: 4)
  • FEATURE　ABSTRACT OBJECT a THING is SAID to BE OR to HAVE. (anc: 3/0, child: 19)
  • A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages ( BUCK 1988) p. 13.17

  • 韓非子同義詞研究 ( HANFEI TONGYI 2004) p. 352

  • “孟子”同義詞研究 ( MENGZI TONGYI 2002) p. 236

  • Historisches Woerterbuch der Philosophie ( RITTER 1971-2007) p. 7.1830

    QUANTOR

  • 東漢﹣隨常用詞演變研究 ( WANG WEIHUI 2000) p. 387

  • 中國文化背景八千詞 Zhongguo wenhua beijing ba qian ci ( WU SANXING 2008) p. 377

  • 古漢語常用詞同義詞詞典 ( HONG CHENGYU 2009) p. 251

    • Words (23 items)

    少  shǎo OC: hmljewʔ MC: ɕiɛu 63 Attributions

    The current general word referring to the relatively small number or the small amount of something is shǎo 少 (ant. duō 多 "many, much").

      Word relations
    • Ant: 多/MANY The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少).
    • Ant: 眾/MANY Zhòng 眾 (ant. guǎ 寡 "few") and zhū 諸 refer to a large number of items of a certain kind.
    • Contrast: 泊/FEW
    • Synon: 寡/FEW Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large (五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout.

      Syntactic words
    • nminority
    • nabstativeindigence, dearth
    • nmsubj=nonhumanwhat there is little of
    • nsubjectwhat is not numerous
    • v(adN)few ones of the contextually determinate kindCH
    • v[adN]few people, a small number of people
    • vad.VtoNfew objects; little of the object stuff
    • vad.VtoNreference=objectfew objects N
    • vadNa small quantity of, few
    • vadVreference=objecton a small scale> few objects; little of the object mass
    • vibe few in number; be few things; be small in quantity or amount
    • vibe in the minority (perhaps vt( prep N "be fewer than the contextually determinate N)CH
    • vichangedecrease
    • vigradedthere are few; be few　甚少
    • vt+prep+Ngradedbe fewer than
    • vt0oN{SUBJ}rare: there are few of 少人 "there are few people"
    • vtoNhave few
    • vtoNcausativecause to be few> reduce; pretend that a number is small
    寡  guǎ OC: kʷraaʔ MC: kɣɛ 50 Attributions

    Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large (五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout.

      Word relations
    • Ant: 劇/MANY
    • Ant: 多/MANY The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少).
    • Ant: 多/MANY The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少).
    • Ant: 多/MANY The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少).
    • Ant: 眾/MANY Zhòng 眾 (ant. guǎ 寡 "few") and zhū 諸 refer to a large number of items of a certain kind.
    • Synon: 少/FEW The current general word referring to the relatively small number or the small amount of something is shǎo 少 (ant. duō 多 "many, much").
    • Synon: 希/FEW Xī 希/稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution.
    • Synon: 省/FEW
    • Synon: 鮮/FEW Xī 希/稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution.

      Syntactic words
    • n[adN]nonreferentialthose who are fewer> the minority
    • nabstativeshortage, dearth of things; small number
    • v[adN]the current minority
    • vigradedbe few; be scarce; be in a minority
    • vtoNbe poor in N; have little NCH
    • vtoNcausativecause to be few
    鮮  xiǎn OC: sqenʔ MC: siɛn 28 Attributions

    Xī 希/稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution.

      Word relations
    • Ant: 多/MANY The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少).
    • Synon: 寡/FEW Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large (五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout.
    • Oppos: 未之有/NEVER

      Syntactic words
    • nprosubjectarchaic: few (opp 靡不 "all")
    • npro{OBJ}+Vtfew of the objects
    • vielevated style?: be few and far between; be sparse, be scarce, be few; be a rare case 不鮮 "be not so few"; 天下鮮矣 "there are few under the sun".
    • vtoNhave little of; be short of
    • vtoNobject=preposedhave little of
    匱  guì OC: ɡruds MC: gi 17 Attributions

    Fá 乏 and kuì 匱 (ant. zú 足 "enough") refer specifically to the shortage of something one definitely needs more of.

      Word relations
    • Assoc: 窮/EXHAUST Qióng 窮 and dān 殫 focusses on the result of exhausting resources as being the absence of these resources.

      Syntactic words
    • nabfeaturescarcity of resources
    • vibe deficient, be in short supply 財匱
    • vi0there is insufficiency of resources
    省  shěng OC: sraaŋʔ MC: ʂɣaŋ 15 Attributions

      Word relations
    • Synon: 寡/FEW Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large (五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout.

      Syntactic words
    • vibe sparse, be economical; be no more than necessary in number
    • vtoNcausativecause to become few: reduce
    • vtoNmiddle voicebe used sparinglyCH
    希  xī OC: qhlɯl MC: hɨi 11 Attributions

    Xī 希/稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution.

      Word relations
    • Epithet: 有/EXIST The standard word for existence is yǒu 有.
    • Synon: 寡/FEW Guǎ 寡 (ant. zhòng 眾 "numerous" and occasionally also duō 多 "large in quantity") typically refers specifically humans not being numerous as opposed to larger groups of humans, but the word comes to refer also to any quantity being relatively large (五穀多寡 "the relative abundance of grain") and I have not found a systematic difference in nuance with shǎo 少 when the word is so used, except for the generally subjective intuition that guǎ 寡 being the dominant word in early times, perhaps retained a somewhat more dignified stylistic value throughout.

      Syntactic words
    • vadNrare, sparse
    • vadVrarely, in few cases; seldom
    • vibe sparse, rare; be rarely exposed to
    • vpostadVa little??
    • vtoNbe rarely exposed to
    一二  yī èr OC: qliɡ njis MC: ʔit ȵi 8 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPa few
    • NP{NUM}(+N)a few of the contextually determinate things N
    • VPadNa few
    些子  xiē zǐ OC: slal sklɯʔ MC: sɣɛ tsɨ 4 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • NPpostadVof small quantity; a little
    • VPadNquantifiercolloquial: some, a few
    • VPicolloquial: be something, be a little amount
    乏  fá OC: bob MC: bi̯ɐp 3 Attributions

    Fá 乏 and kuì 匱 (ant. zú 足 "enough") refer specifically to the shortage of something one definitely needs more of.

      Syntactic words
    • vadNlacking, insufficient
    • vibe in short supply, be in insufficient supply
    落  luò MC: lak OC: ɡ-raaɡ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • viinchoativebecome fewerCH
    蹙  cù OC: sklɯwɡ MC: tsuk 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • vtoNpress > compress > reduce
    兩三  liǎng sān OC: raŋʔ saam MC: li̯ɐŋ sɑm 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • VPadNtwo three > several, a few
    三五  sān wǔ OC: saam ŋaaʔ MC: sɑm ŋuo̝ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • VPadNthree five > a few, several
    不多  bù duō OC: pɯʔ k-laal MC: pi̯ut tɑ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • VPibe few; be little
    些  xiē OC: slal MC: sɣɛ 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • vadNcolloquialsome, a few
    匱乏  guì fá OC: ɡruds bob MC: gi bi̯ɐp 1 Attribution
      Syntactic words
    • VPiintensitivebe in very sort supply; be in every way in short supply
    減  jiǎn OC: kroomʔ MC: kɣɛm 1 Attribution

    Jiǎn 減 (ant. zēng 增 "increase") refers specifically to the reduction of the amount of the number of something. See also DIMINISH.

      Syntactic words
    • vt+prep+Nless than N
    • vtoNcausative(cause to be less>) reduce
    • vtoNgradedbe less than
    寥  liáo OC: ɡ-rɯɯw MC: leu 0 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • vifew, scanty
    尟  xiǎn OC: senʔ MC: siɛn 0 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • vifew; rare (YI)
    殺  shài OC: sreeds MC: ʂɣɛi 0 Attributions

      Word relations
    • Ant: 豐 / 酆/ABUNDANT Fēng 豐 (ant.*qiàn 歉 "poor natural harvest") refers primarily to the natural abundance of some feature or resource, but in elevated archaic discourse the word may also refer to abundance of sacrifice and the like. The rare fēng 丰 was not homophonous in ancient times, and the meaning emphasises beauty as well as abundance. [NATURAL!]

      Syntactic words
    • viexcessiveshài: be scanty, be too few
    泊  bó OC: blaaɡ MC: bɑk 0 Attributions

      Word relations
    • Contrast: 少/FEW The current general word referring to the relatively small number or the small amount of something is shǎo 少 (ant. duō 多 "many, much").

      Syntactic words
    • vibe scant
    稀  xī OC: qhlɯl MC: hɨi 0 Attributions

    Xī 希/稀 and the more archaic xiǎn 鮮 refers to sparsity of distribution.

      Syntactic words
    • vibe few and far between; thin on the ground, sparse; rare
    稍  shāo OC: smreewɡs MC: ʂɣɛu 0 Attributions
      Syntactic words
    • vibe little; few