B1 · Grammar reference
Doing something less with "shao"
The word 少 (shǎo) can mean "few," but when placed before a verb, it takes on the meaning of "less" as in "to do less (of something)." It is often heard when scolding or giving advice (like when parents talk to children). What's not intuitive to learners is that the word 少 should come before the verb.
- Keywords
- 少 · less
- Used for
- Adding more explanation
- Classification
- Verbs
Examples (11)
请少放点盐。
少吃垃圾食品。
少买点，吃不完会坏的。
你能不能少抽点烟？
快期中考试了，少玩点游戏吧。
少喝点，明天还要上班呢。
少看点电视，多看书。
少吃点肉，多吃点蔬菜。
少来！
少说废话！
少管闲事。
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Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.
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