Japanese symbol for “seldom”
少ない
すくない
Romaji: sukunai
few; little; small (amount); low
In Japanese, seldom is 少ない, read すくない (sukunai).
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 few; little; small (amount); low; scarce; insufficient
Written forms: 少ない、尠い、寡い、少い. Readings: すくない.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “seldom”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 稀 | まれ mare | rare; seldom |
| 滅多に | めったに mettani | rarely; seldom |
| まず無い | まずない mazunai | very rare; very unlikely (to happen); scarcely |
| 偶さか | たまさか tamasaka | rarely; unusually; seldom |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 少し | すこし sukoshi | a little; a bit; a small amount |
| 少年 | しょうねん shounen | boy |
| 少女 | しょうじょ shoujo | girl (usu. between 7 and 17); young lady |
| 減少 | げんしょう genshou | decrease; reduction; decline |
| 多少 | たしょう tashou | a little; some; somewhat |
See also: Chinese symbol for “seldom”.
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.
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