少(すく)ない

すくない
i-adjective
few, little
quantity
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Present少(すく)ない少(すく)なくない
Past少(すく)なかった少(すく)なくなかった
て form少(すく)なくて少(すく)なくなくて
Adverbial少(すく)なく—
Conditional ば少(すく)なければ少(すく)なくなければ
Conditional たら少(すく)なかったら少(すく)なくなかったら
1. few, little, scarce
Small in number or amount. Used for both countable and uncountable things. The opposite of 多い (おおい - many).
今日(きょう)は人(ひと)が少(すく)ないですね。
There are few people today, aren't there?
お金(かね)が少(すく)ない。
I don't have much money.
Literally: Money is little
時間(じかん)が少(すく)ないので、急(いそ)ぎましょう。
We don't have much time, so let's hurry.
この町(まち)は店(みせ)が少(すく)ないから、買(か)い物(もの)に不便(ふべん)だ。
This town has few shops, so it's inconvenient for shopping.
今月(こんげつ)は雨(あめ)の日(ひ)が少(すく)なかったので、水(みず)が足(た)りなくなった。
There were few rainy days this month, so we ran out of water.

Usage

少(すく)ない is an i-adjective meaning few or little. Unlike English, which distinguishes "few" (countable) from "little" (uncountable), 少(すく)ない works for both.

Forms

  • 少(すく)なくない: not few (double negative)
  • 少(すく)なくて: te-form
  • 少(すく)なかった: past
  • 少(すく)なくとも: at least (adverbial set phrase)

Common patterns

少(すく)ない is a predicate adjective — it describes the subject, not a following noun directly. Say 人(ひと)が少(すく)ない (there are few people) rather than *少(すく)ない人(ひと). To modify a noun, use 少(すく)しの or 少(すく)ない数(かず)の.

Similar words

  • 少(すく)ない: few/little (adjective, describes quantity)
  • 少(すく)し: a little (adverb/noun, a small amount)
  • Opposite: 多(おお)い (many/much) — same predicate-only grammar restriction

Related Words

Antonym: 多(おお)い (many, much)
Compare: 少(すこ)し (a little)
Compare: 乏(とぼ)しい (scarce)
Compare: 僅少(きんしょう) (very small amount)
basic
Added 2026.1.7 21:01 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:00
01000/01136_sukunai