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<title>Doing something less with "shao"</title>
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<h1>Doing something less with "shao"
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<p>少 (shǎo), means "to do less of something" and is often heard when scolding or giving advice (like when parents talk to children).</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 Colloquial Sayings </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 See also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5 Sources and further reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.1 Books</span></li>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

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

<div class="deux">少 + Verb</div>

<p>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.
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<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">请 少 放 点 盐 。
Qǐng shǎo fàng diǎn yán.
Less salt, please. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 吃 垃圾 食品 。
Shǎo chī lājī shípǐn.
Eat less junk food. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 能 不 能 少 抽 点 烟 ？
Nǐ néng bu néng shǎo chōu diǎn yān?
Can you smoke less? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">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. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 看 点 电视 ，多 看书 。
Shǎo kàn diǎn diànshì, duō kànshū.
Watch TV less. Read more. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 吃 点 肉 ，多 吃 点 蔬菜 。
Shǎo chī diǎn ròu, duō chī diǎn shūcài.
Eat less meat and eat more vegetables.</span><br/></li>
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<h2>Colloquial Sayings</h2>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 来 。
Shǎo lái.
Stop it! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 说 废话 。
Shǎo shuō fèihuà.
Cut the crap. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">少 管 闲事 。
Shǎo guǎn xiánshì.
Stay out of other people's business.</span><br/></li>
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<h3>See also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Doing something more with "duo"</span><br/></li>
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<h3>Sources and further reading
</h3>
<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 39) →buy</span><br/></li>
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