少し・寡し・些し|すこしsukoshi[2]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. adverba little; a bit; a small amount; a few; some; slightly; somewhat
   子供こどもに少すこし愛情あいじょうを注そそいで見み給たまえ、すると君きみにおびただしい愛情あいじょうが戻もどってくる。↗

   Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.
2. adverba little while; a short time; a moment; a minute
   少すこしテレビを見みてもいいですか。↗

   Do you mind if I watch TV for a while?
3. adverba little way; a short distance

• Synonym少々しょうしょうFormalMore polite than 「少し」; the natural choice in courteous phrases like 「少々お待ちください」.
• SynonymちょっとCasualRead 「ちょっと」. The most common word in speech, more casual than 「少し」; also softens refusals and works in greetings.
• Synonym心持ちこころもちNeutralAs an adverb it means 'slightly', a lighter degree than 「少し」; as a noun it refers to one's feelings or mood.
• SynonymいささかWrittenWritten-style 'slightly, somewhat'; it can also understate 'quite a lot', and with a negative (「いささかも」) means 'not at all'.
• SynonymややWrittenWritten-style 'slightly, somewhat', mostly grading the degree of adjectives and similar words.
• Synonym多少たしょうNeutral'To some extent, more or less' — vaguer in feel than 「少し」; also a noun for amount or number.
• Synonym幾分いくぶんWrittenWritten-style 'to some extent, somewhat'; also a noun meaning a part or portion.
• SynonymわずかNeutralStresses that the amount is extremely small — 'only, merely', with a 'just this much' nuance; also usable as a na-adjective.
• SynonymちょびっとCasualColloquial for 'just a tiny bit', with a light, playful tone.
• Synonym若干じゃっかんWrittenA Sino-Japanese word meaning 'some, a few', at home in formal writing and speech, as in 「若干名」.
• SynonymちょいCasualRead 「ちょい」. Very casual 'just a bit', even looser than 「ちょっと」, and often part of set compounds.
• SynonymちっとCasualRead 「ちっと」. Colloquial and slightly old-fashioned; like 「ちょっと」, it means 'a little, a while'.
• SynonymちょっくらCasualSlangy spoken word for 'for a moment', as in 「ちょっくら行ってくる」.
• SynonymいくらかNeutral'Some, a little' — a modest amount or degree; also a noun, and slightly vaguer than 「少し」.
• Antonym多しおおしWrittenArchaic adjective for 'many, numerous' — the quantity opposite of 「少し」; in modern Japanese say 「多い」.
• AntonymちっともNeutralI.e. 「ちっとも」. It must take a negative and means 'not at all' — a different usage from 「少し」.
• Antonym夥しWrittenArchaic word for an enormous number; the modern form is 「夥しい」 — the opposite of 「少し」 in quantity.

For everyday 'a little', 「少し」 is the default; go more casual with 「ちょっと」 and polite with 「少々」, as in 「少々お待ちください」. In writing, reach for 「やや」, 「些か」 or 「若干」. To stress how tiny an amount is, use 「僅か」. Remember 「ちっとも」 needs a negative ('not at all'), and 「多し」/「夥し」 are archaic antonyms.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 数量すうりょう・程度ていどなどが少すくないさま。