美人鱼 美人魚 měi rén yú mermaid 人鱼 人魚 rén yú mermaid / dugong / sea cow / manatee / giant salamander syn 缓缓 緩緩 huǎn huǎn slowly / unhurriedly / little by little syn 小弟 xiǎo dì little brother / I, your little brother (humble) 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 节节 節節 jié jié step by step / little by little 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 逐次 zhú cì gradually / one after another / little by little 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 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 雷大雨小 léi dà yǔ xiǎo lit. much thunder but little rain / fig. a lot of talk but little action / his bark is worse than his bite 小哥哥 xiǎo gē ge little boy who is older than another young child (e.g. his playmate) / (neologism c. 2017) (slang) amiable form of address for a young man of about one's own age or a little older 小姐姐 xiǎo jiě jie little girl who is older than another young child (e.g. her playmate) / (neologism c. 2017) (slang) young lady (amiable form of address for a young woman of about one's own age or a little older) 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 一些 yī xiē some / a few / a little / (following an adjective) slightly ...er 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 有点 有點 yǒu diǎn a little syn 悄悄 qiāo qiāo quiet / making little or no noise / surreptitious / stealthy / anxious / worried / Taiwan pr. [qiao3qiao3] syn 稍微 shāo wēi a little bit syn 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" 少量 shǎo liàng a smidgen / a little bit / a few syn 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) 少许 少許 shǎo xǔ a little / a few syn 稍稍 shāo shāo somewhat / a little / slightly syn 一二 yī èr one or two / a few / a little / just a bit syn 小鬼 xiǎo guǐ little demon (term of endearment for a child) / mischievous child / imp syn 些许 些許 xiē xǔ a few / a little / a bit 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 两下 兩下 liǎng xià twice / for a little while 极少 極少 jí shǎo very little / very few 点滴 點滴 diǎn dī a drip / a little bit / intravenous drip (used to administer drugs) syn 略微 lüè wēi a little bit / slightly syn 点点滴滴 點點滴滴 diǎn diǎn dī dī bit by bit / dribs and drabs / the little details / every aspect 有点儿 有點兒 yǒu diǎn r slightly / a little / somewhat syn 稍后 稍後 shāo hòu in a little while / shortly after 小样 小樣 xiǎo yàng galley proof (printing) / unimpressive / (coll.) little guy (mild insult also used as an affectionate term) 无几 無幾 wú jǐ very little / hardly any syn 殊不知 shū bù zhī little imagined / scarcely realized syn 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 一点一滴 一點一滴 yī diǎn yī dī bit by bit / every little bit syn 妞妞 niū niu little girl 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 小指 xiǎo zhǐ little finger syn 不值钱 不值錢 bù zhí qián of little value 铃铛 鈴鐺 líng dang little bell / CL:隻|只[zhi1] syn 微乎其微 wēi hū qí wēi a tiny bit / very little / next to nothing (idiom) syn 囡囡 nān nān little darling / baby syn 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 甚微 shèn wēi very small / very little / scant / minimal syn 杂牌 雜牌 zá pái inferior brand / little-known brand syn 白鹭 白鷺 bái lù (bird species of China) little egret (Egretta garzetta) syn 贤弟 賢弟 xián dì worthy little brother syn 妮子 nī zi (coll.) lass / (dialect) little girl 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 猴儿 猴兒 hóu ér little devil syn 诀别 訣別 jué bié to bid farewell / to part (usually with little hope of meeting again) syn 稍早 shāo zǎo a little early 稍许 稍許 shāo xǔ a little / a bit syn 一点点 一點點 yī diǎn diǎn a little bit 一时半刻 一時半刻 yī shí bàn kè a short time / a little while syn 黄毛丫头 黃毛丫頭 huáng máo yā tou silly little girl syn 折枝 zhé zhī massage / snapped-off branch / sprig / to snap a twig (i.e. sth that requires very little effort) 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]) 因小失大 yīn xiǎo shī dà to save a little only to lose a lot (idiom) syn 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) 小拇指 xiǎo mǔ zhǐ little finger / pinkie syn 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) 有一点 有一點 yǒu yī diǎn a little / somewhat 劳而无功 勞而無功 láo ér wú gōng to work hard while accomplishing little / to toil to no avail syn 令弟 lìng dì honorable little brother 冒头 冒頭 mào tóu to emerge / to crop up / a little more than syn 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 差 chā difference / discrepancy / (math.) difference (amount remaining after a subtraction) / (literary) a little / somewhat / slightly 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 稍 shāo somewhat / a little 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 臾 yú a moment / little while 厣 厴 yǎn operculum (Latin: little lid) / a covering flap (in various branches of anatomy) syn 尕 gǎ little (dialect) 鲔 鮪 wěi little tuna / Euthynnus alletteratus syn 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 眼高手低 yǎn gāo shǒu dī to have high standards but little ability / to be fastidious but incompetent (idiom) 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) 女大十八变 女大十八變 nǚ dà shí bā biàn lit. a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood (idiom) / fig. a young woman is very different from the little girl she once was 