Meaning & usage
少ない describes a small number or amount of something countable or measurable, such as time, rain, or population, and often appears in comparisons with より. As a regular i-adjective, it can come before a noun in 少ない時間 or end a sentence, with forms like 少なくない, 少なかった, and 少なくなる. It should not be confused with 小さい, which describes small physical size, so quantity uses 少ない while size uses 小さい.
Example sentences 5
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この国の人口はアメリカの人口より少ない。
The population of this country is smaller than that of the United States.
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エジプトは日本より雨が少ない。
They have less rain in Egypt than in Japan.
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読書の時間がますます少なくなっている。
I have less and less time for reading.
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オーストラリアの人口は日本の人口よりずっと少ない。
The population of Australia is much smaller than that of Japan.
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ヨーロッパはアジアより人口が少ない。
Europe has a smaller population than Asia.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 3 past exam questions.
