Word · CEFR A1 · Frequency #291
little
极少；几乎不
核心释义
Not much.
- 1.
不多的。
Not much.
- 2.
一点也不。
Not at all.
一点也不；毫不；不多的。；一点也不。；很少；稍微
用法In use
She ate very little at dinner because she wasn't feeling well.
用法提示：little 作为副词，表示程度低，修饰动词 ate，意为“很少”。
He little knows how much his words hurt others.
用法提示：little 作为副词，放在动词前，表示否定意义“几乎不”。
The project has changed little despite all the discussions.
用法提示：little 作为副词，修饰动词 changed，表示“几乎没有”。
Little did + subject + know + that-clause
否定副词 little 位于句首时，句子用部分倒装；语气较书面，表示“一点也不、完全不”。
Little did she know that the meeting had been cancelled.
她完全不知道会议已经取消了。
little + past participle/adjective
修饰形容词或过去分词时，little 表示程度低，相当于“几乎不、不大”。
相关词与表达Connections
搭配Collocations
- little more than
- 只不过；几乎和……一样
- The problem is little more than a misunderstanding.这个问题只不过是个误解。
- little short of
- 几乎；简直是
- The rescue was little short of a miracle.这次营救简直是个奇迹。
- think little of
- 不重视；认为……没什么了不起
- He thinks little of his opponent's abilities.他看不起对手的能力。
- care little
- 不太在乎；毫不在意
- She cares little for material possessions.她不太在乎物质财富。
- know little
- 知之甚少；不太了解
学习提示Learner notes
记忆技巧Memory Tip
little=小→少：副词时‘很少、几乎不’，搭配否定时‘一点也不’。联想‘小小一点’其实少得可怜。
语境与语域Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：formal prose、literary narrative、rhetorical writing 作副词时，little 通常用于正式或书面语，表示“不多；几乎不”；在“little did + 主语 + 动词”这类倒装句中则表示“一点也不、毫不”。日常口语里多说 not much 或 not at all，用 little 会显得比较书面或带有文学色彩。
语法说明Grammar Note
用于动词或形容词前，表示‘很少’或‘几乎没有’
发音与拼写Pronunciation & Spelling
The words above — whittle, skittle, brittle, spittle, and belittle — rhyme with little: their stressed vowel is /ɪ/ and the following unstressed syllable is /təl/. Warning: don't trust the spelling in lookalikes like bottle /ˈbɒtəl/, kettle /ˈkɛtəl/, settle /ˈsɛtəl/, and beetle /ˈbiːtəl/; they look similar but have different vowel sounds. Also, littoral /ˈlɪtərəl/ shares the first syllable but has an extra syllable.
高价值词汇High-value vocabulary
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.