少
shào
#233 most
frequent character
young
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
少 is built on 小 xiǎo, which points to 'small in amount' and also gives the sound. A small 丿 distinguishes it from 小. The first meaning was 'few, less'. For shǎo it grew to 'to lack'; for shào it grew to 'young'.
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