小 — “small” in Japanese

Grade 1しょう, ちい, こ, お

Radical ⼩ · radical 42 The building block this kanji is filed under

“small” in Japanese is 小, read shou, chii, ko (しょう, ちい, こ, お). It is a Grade 1 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 1 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 小学校 (elementary school).

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What does 小 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	小
Meaning	small
Readings	しょう, ちい, こ, お
Grade	Grade 1 (Easiest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	小学校 (elementary school)

How to read 小

小 is read shou (しょう) or chii (ちい) or ko (こ) or o (お) depending on the word.

Words with 小

小学校しょうがっこう
小鳥
縮小
小舟
小麦粉

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Kanji read the same way as 小

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28