HSK 4 · Verbs

缺少 quēshǎo “lack” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 缺少 means

  1. lack
  2. shortage of
  3. shortfall
  4. to be short (of)

How to say 缺少

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale缺quē1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale少shǎo3rd tone, dipping

缺少 in a sentence

  1. 缺少运动有害健康。

    Quēshǎo yùndòng yǒuhài jiànkāng.

    A lack of exercise is bad for your health.

    Sentence #1785967 from Tatoeba

  2. 厨房里缺少一台洗碗机。

    Chúfáng lǐ quēshǎo yì tái xǐwǎnjī.

    The kitchen lacks a dishwasher.

    Sentence #774513 from Tatoeba

  3. 水是生命所不可缺少的。

    Shuǐ shì shēngmìng suǒ bùkě quēshǎo de.

    Water is essential to life.

    Sentence #5698033 from Tatoeba

How 缺少 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 缺 (quē) with each of its parts in a different colour
缺quēdeficiency
  • 缶jar · fǒuMeaning part
  • 夬decisive · guàiSound part

缶 hints at the meaning (jar); 夬 (guài) hints at the sound. Compare it with quē.

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 缺少

缺 10 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.

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

Words related to 缺少

Words with 缺

缺点quēdiǎn · weak point缺乏quēfá · to lack缺席quēxí · to be absent缺口quēkǒu · gap缺陷quēxiàn · defect

Words with 少

少shǎo · few多少duōshǎo · how many不少bùshǎo · quite a few减少jiǎnshǎo · to lessen至少zhìshǎo · at least青少年qīngshàonián · adolescent

More words: Common Verbs

破pò · broken敲qiāo · to hit轻qīng · light取qǔ · to take扔rēng · to throw散步sànbù · to take a walk伤心shāngxīn · to grieve申请shēnqǐng · to apply (for)

FAQs

缺少 (quēshǎo) means “lack” or “shortage of”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it quēshǎo: quē with a 1st 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. 缺少 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type queshao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 缺少 from the suggestions. Typing queshao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
缺少 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.