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㊦ 好きだ・すきだ ←

→ ㊦ する(1)

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Adjective (い)

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Small in number of quantity.	Few; a small number of; little; a small quantity of ~
【Related Expression: わずか】
【Antonym Expression: 多い】

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Key Sentences

(ks). この町はいいレストランが少ないです。

In this town good restaurants are few.

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Examples

(a). この大学は女子学生が少ないです。

The number of female students at this college is small.

(b). 日本は犯罪が少ない。

There are few crimes in Japan.

(c). 日本語が書ける外国人は大変少ない。

Foreigners who can write Japanese are very few.

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Notes

1. 少ない cannot be used before a noun, except in a relative clause where 少ない is the predicate of the subject of the relative clause.

(1)
• *この大学は少ない女子学生がいます。

(Complementiser phrase: Example (a))

(2)
• 木が少ない町に住みたくありません。
• I don't want to live in a town where there are few trees.

2. The distinction between English 'few' vs. 'a few' can be expressed by 少ない and 少しは as in (3) below.

(3)
• a. 日本語が分かるアメリカ人は少ない。
• Literally: Americans who can understand Japanese are few. (= Few Americans can understand Japanese.)
• b. 日本語が分かるアメリカ人は少しはいる。
• There are a few Americans who can understand Japanese.

【Related Expression】

少ない differs from a similar word 僅か(だ) in both meaning and use. The latter means 'insignificant number or amount of ~' and is used before a noun or in a predicate position or as an adverb. Only in [1a] below can 僅かだ be replaced by 少ない.

[1]

• a. 私が持っているお金はわずかだ。
• The money I possess is very little.
• b. わずかなお金で暮らしている。
• He is living with a paltry sum of money.
• c. あの人はわずかのことですぐ怒る。
• He gets angry easily over a trifling matter.
• d. その時僕はわずか(に)六つでした。
• At that time I was merely six years old.

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㊦ 好きだ・すきだ ←

→ ㊦ する(1)

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