少し
すこし
sukoshi
= a little; a bit; a small amount; slightly
The word sukoshi captures something quintessentially Japanese: the art of restraint expressed through language. Whether you’re seasoning a dish or softening a difficult request, sukoshi does the work with quiet precision.
At its core, sukoshi means a small quantity or degree — roughly equivalent to “a little,” “a bit,” or “slightly” in English. It functions as both an adverb modifying verbs and adjectives, and as a noun referring to a small amount of something.
What sets sukoshi apart from its casual counterpart chotto is register. Sukoshi leans written and formal; you’ll find it in business emails, news articles, and polite spoken requests. Chotto lives in everyday speech and sounds friendlier but less refined.
In negative sentences, sukoshi mo + negative verb means “not at all” — sukoshi mo wakaranai = “I don’t understand it at all.” This double-duty usage makes sukoshi more versatile than English “a little” alone.
Learners often default to chotto in every situation, but swapping in sukoshi instantly raises the politeness level in writing and formal speech. In an email to a client, sukoshi ojikan wo itadakemasenka (“Could I have a little of your time?”) sounds far more professional than using chotto.
Also watch for sukoshi zutsu — “little by little” or “bit by bit.” This phrase appears constantly in Japanese self-improvement, study advice, and motivational contexts, reflecting a cultural value of gradual, steady progress over sudden leaps.
The character 少 is composed of 小 (small) with an additional stroke (丿) cutting through it — visually suggesting something even smaller than small. The right side 丿 was historically interpreted as a dividing mark, splitting the small into even tinier parts. This visual logic reinforces the meaning of scarcity and minimal quantity that sukoshi carries.
Everyday use
スープに少し塩を加えてください。
Suupu ni sukoshi shio wo kuwaete kudasai.
Please add a little salt to the soup.
Casual / Social Media
今日は少し疲れた。
Kyou wa sukoshi tsukareta.
I’m a little tired today.
Formal / Cultural context
少々お待ちいただけますでしょうか。
Shoushou omachi itadakemasu deshou ka.
Would you mind waiting just a moment?
Japanese culture prizes understatement, and sukoshi is one of its most reliable tools. When someone says sukoshi hoshii (“I want a little”), they may genuinely mean just a small amount — or they may be softening what is actually a stronger desire out of modesty. Context and relationship determine which reading applies, and native speakers navigate this intuitively.
The contrast between sukoshi and shoushou (少々) illustrates how Japanese layers politeness onto even quantity words. Shoushou appears almost exclusively in service contexts — hotel lobbies, customer support calls, formal announcements — while sukoshi spans everything from casual texts to business writing. Learners who master this split sound noticeably more fluent.
The phrase sukoshi zutsu (少しずつ, “little by little”) reflects a broader Japanese sensibility toward incremental effort. It appears in language study advice, athletic training philosophies, and everyday encouragement between friends. The idea that consistent small steps lead to meaningful change is embedded in how the word itself gets used.