Chinese Character: 少 (Shǎo/Shào - Few/Lack/Young)
1. 基本特征 (Character Basics)
部首: 小（小字头） (radical: small)
笔画数: 4 (4 strokes)
结构分解: 象形字，甲骨文像沙粒稀疏之形（少与小同源），本义指数量不多 (pictogram resembling sparse sand grains (related to "小"), originally meaning few in quantity)
笔顺:
2. 发音 (Pronunciation)
拼音: Shǎo（第三声，表数量少） / Shào（第四声，表年轻） (Shǎo (third tone): few; Shào (fourth tone): young)
3. 含义 (Meaning)
Shǎo：数量不多（如"少数"）、缺少（如"缺少"）；Shào：年轻（如"少年"） (Shǎo: few (e.g., "minority"); lack (e.g., "lack"); Shào: young (e.g., "youth"))
4. 常用词汇 (Common Words)
- 少数 (shǎo shù) - minority
- 缺少 (quē shǎo) - lack
- 少年 (shào nián) - youth
- 多少 (duō shǎo) - how much/many
5. 语法与用法 (Grammar & Usage)
作形容词表数量（如"人少"）；作动词表缺少（如"少一个"）；作名词表年轻人（如"少男少女"） (Adjective: quantity (e.g., "few people"); Verb: lack (e.g., "one short"); Noun: youth (e.g., "young boys and girls"))
6. 文化背景 (Cultural Background)
中文中"少"体现对数量和年龄的精准表达（如"积少成多"强调积累，"少年中国"象征希望），是日常交流和文学创作的高频字 (In Chinese, "少" reflects precise expression of quantity and age (e.g., "many a little makes a mickle" emphasizes accumulation; "Young China" symbolizes hope), a high-frequency character in daily communication and literature)
7. 例句 (Example Sentence)
这个班级的学生很少，只有五个人。(Zhè ge bān jí de xué shēng hěn shǎo, zhǐ yǒu wǔ gè rén.)
There are very few students in this class, only five.
他少年时期就喜欢读书。(Tā shào nián shí qī jiù xǐ huān dú shū.)
He loved reading during his youth.
8. 记忆技巧 (Memory Tips)
"少"的字形像两个点（小沙粒）加一撇，想象沙粒稀疏就是"少"（Shǎo）；而"少年"的"少"（Shào）可联想"年轻"与"小"相关，轻松区分两个读音 ("少" is shaped like two dots (small grains) and a撇, imagining sparse grains represents "few" (Shǎo). "少年" (youth) uses "少" (Shào), associating "young" with "small" to distinguish pronunciations)