Doing something less with "shao"

少 (shǎo), means "to do less of something" and is often heard when scolding or giving advice (like when parents talk to children).

Structure

Just as you can use 多 to talk about doing something more, you can use 少 to talk about doing something less.

Note that in English, we don't use the word "less" very much. For example, rather than saying "drink less water," we might say "don't drink so much water." In Chinese, though, using 少 is quite natural and common. Avoiding the negative command (telling someone not to do something) is also a subtle way of sounding less bossy and annoying.

Examples

请少放点盐。 Qǐng shǎo fàng diǎn yán. Less salt, please.
少吃垃圾食品。 Shǎo chī lājī shípǐn. Eat less junk food.
少买点，吃不完会坏的。 Shǎo mǎi diǎn, chī bu wán huì huài de. Don't buy too much. It will go bad if we can't finish eating it all.
你能不能少抽点烟？ Nǐ néng bu néng shǎo chōu diǎn yān? Can you smoke less?
快期中考试了，少玩点游戏吧。 Kuài qīzhōng kǎoshì le, shǎo wán diǎn yóuxì ba. You're going to take the mid-term exam. Stop playing so much video games.
少喝点，明天还要上班呢。 Shǎo hē diǎn, míngtiān háiyào shàngbān ne. Don't drink so much. You need go to work tomorrow.
少看点电视，多看书。 Shǎo kàn diǎn diànshì, duō kànshū. Watch TV less. Read more.
少吃点肉，多吃点蔬菜。 Shǎo chī diǎn ròu, duō chī diǎn shūcài. Eat less meat and eat more vegetables.

Doing something less with "shao"

Contents

Structure

Examples

Colloquial Sayings

See also

Sources and further reading

Books