Remember it with the word “small” that has two “l”-s in it, so you just draw three “l”-s . 小 – two little ones by each side and one large in the middle.
The character looks enclosed by its surroundings – the tiny symmetry of the left and right strokes adds to the imagery that the middle one is smaller than it actually appears -, hence the definition of small.
If we imagine that the stroke in the middle is perhaps a person, then we can imagine that both strokes on each side of them are hands petting them (as they are small/cute). 🙂
The symbol looks like a little kid running, and kids are small.
Remember it with the word “small” that has two “l”-s in it, so you just draw three “l”-s . 小 – two little ones by each side and one large in the middle.
The character looks enclosed by its surroundings – the tiny symmetry of the left and right strokes adds to the imagery that the middle one is smaller than it actually appears -, hence the definition of small.
Unlike 大, which has its arms stretched out big and proud, the character for 小 looks like it’s lowered its arms, as if it were small, shrivelled up.
If we imagine that the stroke in the middle is perhaps a person, then we can imagine that both strokes on each side of them are hands petting them (as they are small/cute). 🙂
The character looks like a person sitting with very small legs.