Meaning

Primary

Small

Alternative

Little

Word Type

い adjective

Explanation

This kanji has hiragana attached and ends with an sound. That means it's probably an adjective (and it is!). So, if you take the kanji and its meaning (small), you can figure out the adjective version of it. What is the adjective version of "small?" Actually, it's the same thing: small.

Reading

ちいさい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you to remember the ちい portion:

When you think of the word small, try to think of this cheese (ちい) store. You go inside, and all of their cheeses are so small. They hand you a magnifying glass to see all the cheeses. You look at them and exclaim: "Why are these cheeses so small???"

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 子どもが小さい

    one's children are little

    サイズが小さい

    this size is too small

    目が小さい

    the eyes are small

Context Sentences

小さいトマトはおいしいですよね。

Small tomatoes are delicious.

このクラスには、まだ小さい子もいれば、大人のように大きい子もいる。

In this class, there are kids who are still small while there are kids who are as tall as adults.

このドレスは、わたしには小さすぎる。

This dress is too small for me.

Kanji Composition