就 jiù (after a suppositional clause) in that case / then / (after a clause of action) as soon as / immediately after / (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely / nothing else but / simply / just / precisely / exactly / only / as little as / as much as / as many as / to approach / to move towards / to undertake / to engage in / (often followed by 著|着[zhe5]) taking advantage of / (of food) to go with / with regard to / concerning / (pattern: 就[jiu4] ... 也[ye3] ...) even if ... still ... / (pattern: 不[bu4] ... 就[jiu4] ...) if not ... then must be ... syn 一下 yī xià (after a verb) a bit / a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try) / all at once / suddenly syn 一点 一點 yī diǎn a bit / a little bit / (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit / (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er / a point (in a discussion etc) / (calligraphy) dot stroke (、) / one o'clock (abbr. for 一點鍾|一点钟[yi1 dian3zhong1]) syn 一些 yī xiē some / a few / a little / (following an adjective) slightly ...er syn 有点 有點 yǒu diǎn a little syn 稍微 shāo wēi a little bit syn 稍后 稍後 shāo hòu in a little while / shortly after 小鬼 xiǎo guǐ little demon (term of endearment for a child) / mischievous child / imp syn 悄悄 qiāo qiāo quiet / making little or no noise / surreptitious / stealthy / anxious / worried / Taiwan pr. [qiao3qiao3] syn 小弟 xiǎo dì little brother / I, your little brother (humble) syn 出头 出頭 chū tóu to get out of a predicament / to stick out / to take the initiative / remaining odd fraction after a division / a little more than syn 铃铛 鈴鐺 líng dang little bell / CL:隻|只[zhi1] syn 稍稍 shāo shāo somewhat / a little / slightly syn 少量 shǎo liàng a smidgen / a little bit / a few syn 些许 些許 xiē xǔ a few / a little / a bit syn 缓缓 緩緩 huǎn huǎn slowly / unhurriedly / little by little syn 小儿科 小兒科 xiǎo ér kē pediatrics / pediatric (department) / sth of little importance / trifle / a child's play / (slang) childish / petty / stingy syn 点滴 點滴 diǎn dī a drip / a little bit / intravenous drip (used to administer drugs) syn 一二 yī èr one or two / a few / a little / just a bit syn 少许 少許 shǎo xǔ a little / a few syn 小样 小樣 xiǎo yàng galley proof (printing) / unimpressive / (coll.) little guy (mild insult also used as an affectionate term) 小妹 xiǎo mèi little sister / girl / (Tw) young female employee working in a low-level role dealing with the public (assistant, waitress, attendant etc) 微乎其微 wēi hū qí wēi a tiny bit / very little / next to nothing (idiom) syn 一点点 一點點 yī diǎn diǎn a little bit 点点滴滴 點點滴滴 diǎn diǎn dī dī bit by bit / dribs and drabs / the little details / every aspect 可想而知 kě xiǎng ér zhī (idiom) (it) goes without saying / can well be imagined 略微 lüè wēi a little bit / slightly syn 小指 xiǎo zhǐ little finger syn 妮子 nī zi (coll.) lass / (dialect) little girl syn 稍许 稍許 shāo xǔ a little / a bit syn 一点一滴 一點一滴 yī diǎn yī dī bit by bit / every little bit syn 小拇指 xiǎo mǔ zhǐ little finger / pinkie syn 诀别 訣別 jué bié to bid farewell / to part (usually with little hope of meeting again) syn 美不胜收 美不勝收 měi bù shèng shōu nothing more beautiful can be imagined (idiom) syn 黄毛丫头 黃毛丫頭 huáng máo yā tou silly little girl syn 白鹭 白鷺 bái lù (bird species of China) little egret (Egretta garzetta) syn 细水长流 細水長流 xì shuǐ cháng liú lit. thin streams flow forever / fig. economy will get you a long way / to work steadily at something little by little syn 鸡肋 雞肋 jī lèi chicken ribs / sth of little value or interest / sth of dubious worth that one is reluctant to give up / to be physically weak 杂牌 雜牌 zá pái inferior brand / little-known brand syn 因小失大 yīn xiǎo shī dà to save a little only to lose a lot (idiom) syn 劳而无功 勞而無功 láo ér wú gōng to work hard while accomplishing little / to toil to no avail syn 红宝书 紅寶書 hóng bǎo shū the "Little Red Book" of selected writings of Mao Zedong (refers to 毛主席語錄|毛主席语录[Mao2 Zhu3 xi2 Yu3 lu4]) 谁知道 誰知道 shéi zhī dào God knows... / Who would have imagined...? 小灵通 小靈通 xiǎo líng tōng Personal Handy-phone System (PHS), mobile network system operating in China 1998-2013, branded "Little Smart" 两下 兩下 liǎng xià twice / for a little while 极少 極少 jí shǎo very little / very few 有点儿 有點兒 yǒu diǎn r slightly / a little / somewhat syn 小妹妹 xiǎo mèi mei little sister / little girl / (coll.) vulva 小弟弟 xiǎo dì di little brother / little boy / (coll.) penis 无几 無幾 wú jǐ very little / hardly any syn 节节 節節 jié jié step by step / little by little syn 哪知 nǎ zhī who would have imagined? / unexpectedly 小公主 xiǎo gōng zhǔ lit. little princess / fig. spoiled girl / female version of 小皇帝[xiao3 huang2 di4] 半分 bàn fēn a little bit 妞妞 niū niu little girl 不值钱 不值錢 bù zhí qián of little value 囡囡 nān nān little darling / baby syn 甚微 shèn wēi very small / very little / scant / minimal syn 贤弟 賢弟 xián dì worthy little brother syn 猴儿 猴兒 hóu ér little devil syn 稍早 shāo zǎo a little early 孰料 shú liào who would have thought? / who could have imagined? / unexpectedly 人鱼小姐 人魚小姐 rén yú xiǎo jie mermaid / the Little Mermaid 一时半刻 一時半刻 yī shí bàn kè a short time / a little while syn 逐次 zhú cì gradually / one after another / little by little 折枝 zhé zhī massage / snapped-off branch / sprig / to snap a twig (i.e. sth that requires very little effort) 贫下中农 貧下中農 pín xià zhōng nóng (category defined by the Communist Party) poor and lower-middle peasants: farmers who, before land reform, possessed little or no land (poor peasants) and those who were barely able to support themselves with their own land (lower-middle peasants) 小过 小過 xiǎo guò little mistake / minor offense / slightly too much 四小龙 四小龍 sì xiǎo lóng Four Asian Tigers / East Asian Tigers / Four Little Dragons (East Asian economic powers: Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong) 积少成多 積少成多 jī shǎo chéng duō (idiom) many little things add up to sth great / many little drops make an ocean syn 有一点 有一點 yǒu yī diǎn a little / somewhat 差 chā difference / discrepancy / (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction) / (literary) a little / somewhat / slightly syn 稍 shāo somewhat / a little syn 略知一二 lüè zhī yī èr to know just a little / to have a rough idea syn 鲔 鮪 wěi little tuna / Euthynnus alletteratus syn 尕 gǎ little (dialect) 冒头 冒頭 mào tóu to emerge / to crop up / a little more than syn 顷 頃 qǐng unit of area equal to 100 畝|亩[mu3] or 6.67 hectares / a short while / a little while ago / circa. (for approximate dates) syn 令弟 lìng dì honorable little brother 轻车简从 輕車簡從 qīng chē jiǎn cóng (of an official) to travel with little luggage and just a small escort / to travel without ostentation syn 稚女 zhì nǚ little girl (of toddler age) 万丈高楼平地起 萬丈高樓平地起 wàn zhàng gāo lóu píng dì qǐ towering buildings are built up from the ground (idiom) / great oaks from little acorns grow 臾 yú a moment / little while 厣 厴 yǎn operculum (Latin: little lid) / a covering flap (in various branches of anatomy) syn 眼高手低 yǎn gāo shǒu dī to have high standards but little ability / to be fastidious but incompetent (idiom) syn 小强 小強 xiǎo qiáng (slang) cockroach ("Little Qiang" was originally the name given to a dead cockroach that had supposedly been a pet of the lead character in the 1993 Hong Kong comedy movie "Flirting Scholar". Subsequently, it came to be used as a name for any cockroach, and also for characters in film and television who are seemingly indestructible or repeatedly resurrected.) 一来二去 一來二去 yī lái èr qù gradually / little by little / in the course of time syn 一点一点 一點一點 yī diǎn yī diǎn little by little / bit by bit / gradually 一时半晌 一時半晌 yī shí bàn shǎng a short time / a little while 一时半霎 一時半霎 yī shí bàn shà a short time / a little while 一本万利 一本萬利 yī běn wàn lì small capital, huge profit (idiom) / to put in a little and get a lot out syn 因人成事 yīn rén chéng shì to get things done relying on others (idiom) / with a little help from his friends syn 失道寡助 shī dào guǎ zhù an unjust cause finds little support (idiom, from Mencius) / cf 得道多助[de2 dao4 duo1 zhu4] a just cause attracts much support 小惩大诫 小懲大誡 xiǎo chéng dà jiè lit. to punish a little to prevent a lot (idiom) / to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent large scale repetition 少见多怪 少見多怪 shǎo jiàn duō guài lit. a person who has seen little of the world will be be astonished by certain things (idiom) / fig. to be taken aback by sth because of one's lack of sophistication / naive / unworldy syn 顺水人情 順水人情 shùn shuǐ rén qíng to do sb a favor at little cost 纲举目张 綱舉目張 gāng jǔ mù zhāng if you lift the headrope the meshes spread open (idiom) / take care of the big things and the little things will take care of themselves / (of a piece of writing) well-structured and ordered 小鸟依人 小鳥依人 xiǎo niǎo yī rén lit. like a little bird relying on people (idiom) / fig. cute and helpless-looking 一琴一鹤 一琴一鶴 yī qín yī hè carrying very little luggage (idiom) / honest and incorruptible (government officials) 