小 (xiǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “small”. It is written from 亅 (vertical hook) and 八 (eight), and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “small”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亅 + 八
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Unicode U+5C0F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection
Memory aid
A vertical hook (亅) passes between the two strokes of eight (八), making the compact shape of small (小).
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 大小dà xiǎosize小 = xiǎo
- 小丑xiǎo chǒuclown; buffoon小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo chǒu
- 小刀xiǎo dāosmall knife; pocketknife小 = xiǎo
- 小区xiǎo qūresidential district; housing estate小 = xiǎo
- 小虫xiǎo chónga little bug; a small insect小 = xiǎo
- 小贩xiǎo fànstreet vendor; peddler小 = xiǎo
- 小鸟xiǎo niǎolittle bird小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo niǎo
- 小麦xiǎo màiwheat小 = xiǎo
- 邓小平dèng xiǎo píngDeng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Chinese leader小 = xiǎo
- 娇小jiāo xiǎopetite; small and delicate小 = xiǎo
- 小偷xiǎo tōuthief小 = xiǎo
- 小卒xiǎo zúa foot soldier; a pawn; a nobody小 = xiǎo
- 小孩xiǎo háichild; kid小 = xiǎo
- 小巧玲珑xiǎo qiǎo líng lóngsmall and exquisite; dainty and finely made小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo qiǎo líng lóng
- 小巷xiǎo xiàngnarrow lane; small alley小 = xiǎo
- 小朋友xiǎo péng yǒuchild; kid (friendly address for a young child)小 = xiǎospoken asxiǎo péng youHSK 2
- 小狗xiǎo gǒupuppy; little dog小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo gǒuHSK 1
- 小猫xiǎo māokitten; little cat小 = xiǎo
- 小组xiǎo zǔsmall group; team小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo zǔHSK 4
- 狭小xiá xiǎosmall and cramped; confined小 = xiǎo
- 胆小dǎn xiǎotimid; easily frightened小 = xiǎospoken asdán xiǎo
Go deeper
All readings
small
small; little; young
体积、数量或程度不大；也可表示年幼。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大小dà xiǎosize小 = xiǎo
- 小丑xiǎo chǒuclown; buffoon小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo chǒu
- 小刀xiǎo dāosmall knife; pocketknife小 = xiǎo
- 小区xiǎo qūresidential district; housing estate小 = xiǎo
- 小虫xiǎo chónga little bug; a small insect小 = xiǎo
- 小贩xiǎo fànstreet vendor; peddler小 = xiǎo
- 小鸟xiǎo niǎolittle bird小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo niǎo
- 小麦xiǎo màiwheat小 = xiǎo
- 邓小平dèng xiǎo píngDeng Xiaoping (1904–1997), Chinese leader小 = xiǎo
- 娇小jiāo xiǎopetite; small and delicate小 = xiǎo
- 小偷xiǎo tōuthief小 = xiǎo
- 小卒xiǎo zúa foot soldier; a pawn; a nobody小 = xiǎo
- 小孩xiǎo háichild; kid小 = xiǎo
- 小巧玲珑xiǎo qiǎo líng lóngsmall and exquisite; dainty and finely made小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo qiǎo líng lóng
- 小巷xiǎo xiàngnarrow lane; small alley小 = xiǎo
- 小朋友xiǎo péng yǒuchild; kid (friendly address for a young child)小 = xiǎospoken asxiǎo péng youHSK 2
- 小狗xiǎo gǒupuppy; little dog小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo gǒuHSK 1
- 小猫xiǎo māokitten; little cat小 = xiǎo
- 小组xiǎo zǔsmall group; team小 = xiǎospoken asxiáo zǔHSK 4
- 狭小xiá xiǎosmall and cramped; confined小 = xiǎo
- 胆小dǎn xiǎotimid; easily frightened小 = xiǎospoken asdán xiǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 小 mean?
小 (xiǎo) means small; little; young.
How do you pronounce 小?
It is pronounced xiǎo.
What parts is 小 made of?
亅 (vertical hook) and 八 (eight). The recorded source is: Unicode U+5C0F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 小 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 小?
小. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 小?
Common ones are 大小. The reading of 小 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.