HSK 4 · Function Words

至少 zhìshǎo “at least” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 至少 means

  1. at least
  2. (to say the) least

How to say 至少

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale至zhì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale少shǎo3rd tone, dipping

至少 in a sentence

  1. 我们班至少有三十个学生。

    Wǒmen bān zhìshǎo yǒu sānshí ge xuésheng.

    There are at least thirty students in our class.

    Sentence #3378105 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我们每天至少该睡八小时。

    Wǒmen měitiān zhìshǎo gāi shuì bā xiǎoshí.

    We should sleep at least eight hours a day.

    Sentence #813625 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我弟弟非常重要。至少他认为他是。

    Wǒ dìdi fēicháng zhòngyào. Zhìshǎo tā rènwéi tā shì.

    My little brother is very important. At least, he thinks he is.

    Sentence #503281 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 至少 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 至 (zhì) with each of its parts in a different colour
至zhìto arrive
  • 一one · yī
  • 厶private · sī
  • 土earth · tǔ
The character 少 (shǎo) with each of its parts in a different colour
少shǎofew
  • 小small · xiǎo
  • 丿slash · piě

Memory aidSmall 小 with one more stroke 丿: few, little.

How to write 至少

至 6 strokes · 少 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

至少 (zhìshǎo) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 至少 (zhìshǎo). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 至少

Words with 至

甚至shènzhì · even至今zhìjīn · so far至于zhìyú · as for截至jiézhì · up to以至yǐzhì · to such an extent that无微不至wúwēibúzhì · in every possible way

Words with 少

少shǎo · few多少duōshǎo · how many不少bùshǎo · quite a few减少jiǎnshǎo · to lessen缺少quēshǎo · lack青少年qīngshàonián · adolescent

More words: Particles & Connectors

正好zhènghǎo · just (in time)之zhī · of (formal equivalent of 的)值得zhíde · to be worth只要zhǐyào · if only重新chóngxīn · again专门zhuānmén · specially准时zhǔnshí · on time最好zuìhǎo · best

FAQs

至少 (zhìshǎo) means “at least” or “(to say the) least”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zhìshǎo: zhì with a 4th tone, then shǎo with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 至少 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhishao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 至少 from the suggestions. Typing zhishao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
至少 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.