少し details
a little + write
sukoshi kaku
a little; a small amount — the register-neutral degree word, at home in writing
meaning: write a little
準備が終わるまで、少し待つ。
junbi ga owaru made, sukoshi matsu.
I'll wait a little until the preparations are finished. neutral
塩を少し入れると、味が変わります。
shio o sukoshi ireru to, aji ga kawarimasu.
Add a little salt and the flavour changes. neutral
- dictionary form
- i-adjective
- na-adjective
- alternant
- formal
Examples
a little; a small amount — a modest degree of a quality, or a small quantity of a thing
準備が終わるまで、少し待つ。
junbi ga owaru made, sukoshi matsu.
I'll wait a little until the preparations are finished. neutral
塩を少し入れると、味が変わります。
shio o sukoshi ireru to, aji ga kawarimasu.
Add a little salt and the flavour changes. neutral
もう少し待ってて。すぐ終わるから。
mou sukoshi mattete. sugu owaru kara.
Hang on a little longer. I'll be done in a second. casual
お忙しいところ恐縮ですが、少しお時間をいただけないでしょうか。
o isogashii tokoro kyoushuku desu ga, sukoshi o jikan o itadakenai deshou ka.
I know you are busy, but might I have a little of your time? formal
Formation
少し{V}attaches to dictionary form少し{I}attaches to i-adjective少し{NA-stem}だattaches to na-adjective
Variant notes
- もう少し — the counting もう asks for a further small increment on top — もう少し待ってください。
- 少々 — the keigo-register partner, at home in service Japanese —少々お待ちください。
Related patterns
Similar
The same quantity at different registers — ちょっと is the spoken default and 少し the one a written report uses; only ちょっと can trail off as a refusal (今日はちょっと…), where 少し would be read as an unfinished measurement.
Lookalikes
The も is what flips it — 少しも高くない denies any expense at all, "not in the least", while bare 少し scales upward from zero (少し高い, a bit expensive); reading the first as "not a bit expensive, just a little" inverts the sentence.