Word: 少 (shǎo, shào)

欧洲的人口比亚洲少。

Ōuzhōu de rénkǒu bǐ Yàzhōu shǎo.

Europe has a smaller population than Asia.

沙滩上的人非常少。

Shātān shàng de rén fēicháng shǎo.

There were few people on the beach.

沙漠地区的降水非常少。

Shāmò dìqū de jiàngshuǐ fēicháng shǎo.

Precipitation is very low in desert regions.

沙漠地带很少下雨。

Shāmò dìdài hěn shǎo xiàyǔ.

It rarely rains in desert zones.

淡季去海边，人比较少。

Dànjì qù hǎibiān, rén bǐjiào shǎo.

If you go to the seaside in the off season, there are fewer people.

玩的时间一多，读书的时间便少。

Wán de shíjiān yì duō, dúshū de shíjiān biàn shǎo.

More play will mean less time to study.

生气催人老，笑笑变年少

shēngqì cuī rén lǎo, xiàoxiào biàn nián shào

anger hurries a person to old age; laughing makes one young

生病的时候，最好少吃油腻。

Shēngbìng de shíhou, zuìhǎo shǎo chī yóunì.

When you're sick, it's best to eat less greasy food.

睡得太少会诱发很多疾病。

Shuì de tài shǎo huì yòufā hěn duō jíbìng.

Getting too little sleep can cause many illnesses.

笑一笑不会少一块肉。

Xiào yí xiào búhuì shǎo yíkuài ròu.

A smile doesn't cost anything.

笑一笑，十年少。

Xiào yí xiào, shínián shǎo.

Laughter is good for your health.

笑一笑，十年少；愁一愁，白了头

xiào yí xiào, shínián shào; chóu yì chóu, báile tóu

smile once, ten years younger; worry once, hair turns white

罗汉请观音，客少主人多

luóhàn qǐng guānyīn, kè shǎo zhǔrén duō

Arhats invite Guanyin: few guests, many hosts

老不与少争

lǎo bù yǔ shào zhēng

the old don't contend with the young

老不舍心,少不舍力

lǎo bù shě xīn,shào bù shě lì

the old shouldn't spare their thought, the young shouldn't spare their strength

老怕丧子,少怕丧母

lǎo pà sàng zǐ,shào pà sàng mǔ

the old fear losing a son, the young fear losing a mother

能不能少用一些塑料袋？

Néng bùnéng shǎo yòng yìxiē sùliàodài?

Could we use fewer plastic bags?

话多不如话少，话少不如话好。

Huà duō bùrú huà shǎo, huà shǎo bùrú huà hǎo.

It's better to speak less than to speak too much, and it's better to speak well than to speak too little.

课本里很少教俚语。

Kèběn lǐ hěn shǎo jiāo lǐyǔ.

Textbooks rarely teach slang.

谈判时，我们手里的筹码太少了。

Tánpàn shí, wǒmen shǒulǐ de chóumǎ tài shǎole.

In the negotiation, we have too few bargaining chips in hand.

过度开采会让地下水越来越少。

Guòdù kāicǎi huì ràng dìxiàshuǐ yuèláiyuè shǎo.

Over-exploitation will leave less and less groundwater.

这个池塘里的水很少。

Zhège chítáng lǐ de shuǐ hěn shǎo.

There is little water in the pond.

这些天他们很少看电视。

Zhèxiē tiān tāmen hěn shǎo kàn diànshì.

They seldom watch television these days.

这副扑克少了一张牌。

Zhè fù pūkè shǎole yì zhāng pái.

This deck of cards is missing one card.

这支球队在主场很少输球。

Zhè zhī qiúduì zài zhǔchǎng hěn shǎo shūqiú.

This team rarely loses at its home ground.

这本书少了两页。

Zhè běn shū shǎole liǎng yè.

Two pages are missing from this book.

这样想的人很少。

Zhèyàng xiǎng de rén hěn shǎo.

Few people think so.

这样的东西很少。

Zhèyàng de dōngxi hěn shǎo.

There are so few things like this.

这表明我们对自身的认知很少。

Zhè biǎomíng wǒmen duì zìshēn de rènzhī hěn shǎo.

That shows how little we know of ourselves.

适龄青年越来越少了。

Shìlíng qīngnián yuèláiyuè shǎole.

There are fewer and fewer young people of the right age.

酒要少喝，事要多理

jiǔ yào shǎo hē, shì yào duō lǐ

drink little wine, attend to much business

降雨太少，农民很着急。

Jiàngyǔ tài shǎo, nóngmín hěn zháojí.

There has been so little rainfall that the farmers are worried.

雨后空气中的污染物少了。

Yǔ hòu kōngqì zhōng de wūrǎnwù shǎole.

After the rain, there are fewer pollutants in the air.

饭越捎越少,话越捎越多

fàn yuè shāo yuè shǎo,huà yuè shāo yuè duō

the more food is carried along, the less there is; the more words are passed on, the more there are