少数

shǎo shù

minority

少数人支持这个提议。

A minority of people support this proposal.

general

A smaller group compared to the majority, often referring to ethnic, racial, or social groups.

少数民族保留了自己的传统文化。

Minority ethnic groups have preserved their traditional culture.

Can refer to numerical minorities or marginalized groups in society.

general

A small number or amount.

少数人知道这个秘密。

Only a few people know this secret.

Often used in contexts where the quantity is relatively small.

Collocations

少数民族ethnic minority少数人a minority of people少数派minority faction

the minority should submit to the majority

In formal contexts, 少数 often refers to ethnic or social minorities, while in casual speech, it can mean 'a few' or 'a small number'.

Be mindful of the context to distinguish between 'minority group' and 'small number' meanings.

Composed of 少 (shǎo, 'few') and 数 (shù, 'number'), literally meaning 'few in number'.

Often used in social, political, or statistical contexts to describe groups or quantities that are smaller than the majority.

少

few

root

数

number

root

汉英词典