【小】(shō,chī,ko,o/small,tiny,little) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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How to read 小

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are

・shō　しょう

For example,
・大小　dai-shō　だいしょう
large or small
・小学校　shō-gakkō　しょうがっこう
elementary school
・小説　shō-setsu　しょうせつ
novel, fiction
and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next is the kun-reading.
It’s read as

・chī　ちい
・ko　こ
・o　お

For example,
・小さい　chī-sai　ちいさい
small
・小麦　ko-mugi　こむぎ
wheat
・小川　o-gawa　おがわ
stream, brook, streamlet
and so on.

③ Special reading

Next is a special reading.

・小夜　sa-yo　さよ
night
It's a poetic expression.

Meaning of 小

Next is the meaning of the kanji for "小".
This kanji is used in the next meanings

・small, tiny
・little

Radical of 小

And the radical of this character is 小/sho.
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names in Jpapan.
Here are some family names that are famous in Japan.

・小林　kobayashi　こばやし
・小川　ogawa　おがわ
・小野　ono　おの
・小島　kojima　こじま
・小山　koyama　こやま
・小松　komatsu　こまつ
・小池　koike　こいけ
・小田　oda　おだ
・小西　konishi　こにし
・小沢　ozawa　おざわ

Personal name

These are the most common personal names. 

・小百合　sayuri　さゆり
・小夜子　sayoko　さよこ

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 小.

・小栗 旬　Oguri Shun　おぐり しゅん
He is an Actor

・佐々木 小次郎　Sasaki Kojirō　ささき こじろう
He is a Swordsman, known as Ganryu Kojiro

Anime characters

Next, I will introduce some manga and anime characters that use the kanji 小.

・小野寺 小咲　Onodera Kosaki　おのでら こさき
He is a character in Nisekoi/False Love

Look-alikes 小

Finally, here are some kanji that are similar to 小.

・少　shō, suku　しょう、すく（ない）
little

The origin of kanji 小, other words and proverbs are introduced in the "iLAB".
If you are interested, please continue reading.

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

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