Usage patterns 少しょう 数すう にとどまる to remain a minority; to stay few in number
Those opposed remained a small minority.
少しょう 数すう の 〈 人ひと 〉 が 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 only a small number of people do (something)
Only a small number of students objected to that opinion.
ごく 少しょう 数すう a very small number (of)
Only a very small number of people know that fact.
Related words 少ない is an i-adjective describing a state of scarcity, while 少数 is a noun/adverb naming the concept of a small quantity itself.
少数 is a native Japanese word for a small number or few, while マイノリティー is a loanword often reserved for statistical or social contexts.
少数 is a formal, numerical term for a small number or minority, while 一握り evokes a tangible handful, often used for people or things informally.
Opposites· 9 large number; many · majority
過半数 (more than half) is the direct opposite of 少数 (a small number, minority).
少数 means 'a small number/minority', the direct opposite of 大多数 's 'great majority'.
Show 6 more Show fewer 少数 means a small number of people, the direct opposite of 大勢 's large number of people.
少数 means 'minority', the direct opposite of 大勢 (sense 2) when referring to the numerically dominant part of a group.
少数 means 'a small number', the direct opposite of 無数 's 'countless, innumerable'.
少数 means 'a small number/minority', the direct opposite of 大半 's 'majority, most'.
少数 means 'a small number' or 'minority', the opposite of 大方 's sense of 'the majority'.
少数 means a small number or minority, the opposite of the abundance expressed by 数々 .
Don't confuse with 小数 (also read しょうすう ) means 'decimal fraction' in math, a completely different word from 少数 'small number/minority' despite the identical pronunciation.
少数 refers to a small number of countable things, while 少量 refers to a small amount of an uncountable substance or material.
少数 means 'a small number' or 'minority', while 小数点 refers specifically to the punctuation mark used in decimal notation.
Etymology Compound of 少 (few) and 数 (number). The reading is on'yomi for both characters.
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