other N5 common casualpolitewritten
少ない — few / not much
少ない ・ すくない
Meaning
- few / scarce / not much — there is little of something (い-adjective)
Key sentence
この町は人が少ない。
This town has few people.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective predicate | 〜が少ない | 雨が少ない (there's little rain) |
Examples
今年は雨が少ない。
There's little rain this year.
反対する人は少なかった。
Few people opposed it.
When you can't use it
- 少ない is awkward placed directly before a noun: 少ない人 sounds unnatural. Say it as a predicate (人が少ない) instead, or use 少しの / わずかな to modify a noun. Its opposite 多い behaves the same way.
Notes
- Don't confuse 少ない ('few,' an adjective describing that a quantity is small) with 少し ('a little / slightly,' an adverb of degree) — same kanji 少, different reading and role. The opposite of 少ない is 多い ('many').
See 少ない in real sentences
Jengo shows 少ない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.