Japanese symbol for “scant”

残り少ない

のこりすくない

Romaji: nokorisukunai

having little left; having few remaining; running short; running low

In Japanese, scant is 残り少ない, read のこりすくない (nokorisukunai).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

adj-i having little left; having few remaining; running short; running low; scant

Written forms: 残り少ない、残りすくない、のこり少ない. Readings: のこりすくない.

Kanji and stroke order

残

remainder, leftover, balance

on: ザン、サン
kun: のこ.る、のこ.す、そこな.う、のこ.り

10 strokes · JLPT 2

少

few, little

on: ショウ
kun: すく.ない、すこ.し

4 strokes · JLPT 4

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
残念	ざんねん zannen	regrettable; unfortunate; disappointing
残り	のこり nokori	remainder; remnant; the rest
残す	のこす nokosu	to leave (behind)
残業	ざんぎょう zangyou	overtime (work)
残る	のこる nokoru	to remain; to be left
残酷	ざんこく zankoku	cruel; brutal; ruthless
少し	すこし sukoshi	a little; a bit; a small amount
少年	しょうねん shounen	boy

See also: Chinese symbol for “scant”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.