少年
HSK 4 (exam 2025)HSK 2 (2021)
少年 (shàonián) · teenager
少年 (shàonián) means “teenager; young person”. It is written with 2 characters: 少 (few) + 年 (year). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 少年 is built
The characters
少 shǎo · few
What 少 is made of
- 小xiǎo — small
- 亅 — hook
- 八bā — eight
- 丿 — falling stroke
Origin hint: Grains of sand; 小 provides the pronunciation and meaning (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
年 nián · year
What 年 is made of
- 干gàn — dry (gān)
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
Origin hint: A man 干 carrying grain, representing the annual harvest (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
他是一个少年。Tā shì yī ge shàonián.He is a teenage boy.
少年时我住在南方。Shàonián shí wǒ zhù zài nánfāng.When I was young, I lived in the south.
Questions about 少年
What does 少年 mean?
少年 (shàonián) means “teenager; young person”.
How do you pronounce 少年?
少年 is pronounced shàonián.
Which HSK level is 少年?
少年 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021).
Related words
- 多少duōshaohow many
- 不少bùshǎomany
- 青少年qīngshàoniánteenager
- 少数shǎoshùfew
- 缺少quēshǎoto lack
- 至少zhìshǎoat least
- 减少jiǎnshǎoto reduce
- 少见shǎojiànrare
- 少量shǎoliànga small amount
- 少shǎofew
Learn 少年 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 6: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.