Meaning

Primary

A Few

Alternatives

A Little, Just

Word Type

な adjective, adverb, noun, の adjective

Explanation

When something is slight, that means you only have a few or a little of that thing.

僅か is a relatively formal word that indicates a small amount. You'll hear it when someone wants to emphasize how little something is, like 僅かな差 (a little gap) or 僅か10分 (just ten minutes). Note this word is often written in kana, as わずか, unless the writing style is very formal.

Reading

わずか
  • Miyuki
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

When people have just a few of something, wars (わず) tend to break out. So many wars have started because there was only a little of something and people began to fight over it.

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 僅かな時間

    a small amount of time

    僅かな期間

    a short period

    僅かな違い

    a slight difference

    僅かな差

    a small gap

Context Sentences

僅かな差で彼女が勝ちました。

She won by a narrow margin.

僅か数分で状況が一変した。

In just a few minutes, everything changed.

僅かにドアが開いていて、中から声が聞こえてきました。

The door was slightly ajar, and I could hear voices coming from inside.

財布の中には、もう僅か数セントしか残ってなかった。

There were only a few cents left in my wallet.

そんなことが出来る人は、ごくごく僅かですよ。

Only a tiny handful of people can do something like that.

Kanji Composition