<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0q60W.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0q60W.png" alt="![enter image description here"></a></p>

<p><em>Incorrect</em> is a relative term.</p>

<p>On the whole, I'm going to say <em>no, it's not incorrect</em>, and it's easier to learn the character if you write it with a hook, because the glyph origin of「少」was「小」compounded with「丿」, and「小」is never written without the hook.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T12:38:13.253Z
I think an important aspect, which is missing in this answer, is that it's regional. *On the whole, I'm going to say no, it's not incorrect,* is not a proper way to address it.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T12:57:15.583Z
@dan that is not the correct way to interpret it. Real life usage of Chinese characters is certainly not dictated by a particular region's school educational guidelines, otherwise you're suggesting e.g. that [these calligraphic samples of「少」](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%B0%91+%E6%A5%B7%E6%9B%B8&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi03M7o3trbAhUHKJQKHSufCbMQ_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=710) can be regionally distinguished based on the presence of the hook. (BTW, you can't regionaly distinguish them based on this, those samples are all from mainland China)
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T13:18:34.337Z
I know sometimes we have more tolerance in artist 书法. But I will tell you 少 with a little hook is wrong within the mainland China. Every educated person will tell you that's wrong. What we suppose to tell here is standard language. If you can approve that 少 with a little hook is possible in other regions, then you should point it out it's regional.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T13:21:08.083Z
Please see this dictionary: http://m.zdic.net/z/?u=5C11
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T13:37:36.213Z
@dan If you understand 筆順, then you'll see that the most fluent and common way of writing *everywhere*, which is in 行書, does not distinguish between whether there's a hook or not at the end of the first stroke, as the bottom of the first stroke links naturally to the second stroke on the left. No serious person actually trained in Chinese writing will make a claim that having a hook is "wrong", and taking the advice of your so-called "educated people" (really, you just mean *laymen*) is like listening to a non-physicist on the matters of physics. I cannot give such misleading advice, sorry.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T14:04:36.187Z
sorry if my word might somehow be impolite. You can take 行书 as a formal writing indeed. If you do that, then you would find there would be lots of varieties of character writing. So, normally, or by default we will take 正楷 as the standard way to render the formal writing. Think about if OP followed your advice and wrote it with a little hook in his exam, then he got wrong. That's not good though.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T14:10:08.173Z
The reason why I pointed it out here is that I don't want OP and other learners to be confused or misled by your wording. Especially, your answer was so upvoted, which could also give Op a strong impression that what you put is very right. Of course, for daily writing, people don't usually care that much.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T14:14:43.590Z
I don't usually do the downvoting, but I found sometimes the voting in this site is not based on the fact, but impressions, which sometimes misleads. This is not really a good thing.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T14:31:23.630Z
@dan I cannot support your comments. This is like saying "if you don't make high school level assumptions about physics problems, you'll get marked wrong in an exam". Real usage of language/whatever else is not dictated by the things you get taught in high school, and it is misleading to suggest that it carries much weight at all. This site is about the entire Chinese language to help people increase general Chinese literacy, not about how the Chinese language is taught in school in the PRC; the latter is only something *to be aware of* to assist literacy.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T05:21:15.677Z
2018-06-17T05:21:15.677Z
dROOOze
<p>This question is about writing the hanzi <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%91" rel="nofollow noreferrer">少</a>; it's written as follows:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ALWQfm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ALWQfm.png" alt="少 stroke order; sourced from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%B0%91-bw.png"></a></p>

<p>Sometimes when I write this hanzi by hand, I write the first three strokes to look like <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小</a>, which looks different because it has a hooked first stroke:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/SiBr0m.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/SiBr0m.png" alt="小 stroke order; sourced from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%B0%8F-bw.png"></a></p>

<p>I'm wondering if it's incorrect, or merely a matter of style (or font).</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is it incorrect to write 少 with a hooked first stroke, like 小?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-17T05:27:51.777Z
If you write it with that little hook in an exam of the mainland China, then it's wrong. Not sure other regions.
dan
<characters><handwriting>
Is it incorrect to write 少 with a hooked first stroke, like 小?
# Is it incorrect to write 少 with a hooked first stroke, like 小?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-17)

This question is about writing the hanzi [少](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%91); it's written as follows:

[![少 stroke order; sourced from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%B0%91-bw.png](https://i.sstatic.net/ALWQfm.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/ALWQfm.png)

Sometimes when I write this hanzi by hand, I write the first three strokes to look like [小](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F), which looks different because it has a hooked first stroke:

[![小 stroke order; sourced from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%B0%8F-bw.png](https://i.sstatic.net/SiBr0m.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/SiBr0m.png)

I'm wondering if it's incorrect, or merely a matter of style (or font).

**Question**: Is it incorrect to write 少 with a hooked first stroke, like 小?

**Tags:** characters, handwriting

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you write it with that little hook in an exam of the mainland China, then it's wrong. Not sure other regions.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-06-17. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

[![![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/0q60W.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/0q60W.png)

*Incorrect* is a relative term.

On the whole, I'm going to say *no, it's not incorrect*, and it's easier to learn the character if you write it with a hook, because the glyph origin of「少」was「小」compounded with「丿」, and「小」is never written without the hook.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think an important aspect, which is missing in this answer, is that it's regional. *On the whole, I'm going to say no, it's not incorrect,* is not a proper way to address it.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 that is not the correct way to interpret it. Real life usage of Chinese characters is certainly not dictated by a particular region's school educational guidelines, otherwise you're suggesting e.g. that [these calligraphic samples of「少」](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%B0%91+%E6%A5%B7%E6%9B%B8&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi03M7o3trbAhUHKJQKHSufCbMQ_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=710) can be regionally distinguished based on the presence of the hook. (BTW, you can't regionaly distinguish them based on this, those samples are all from mainland China)  
> **username_1**: I know sometimes we have more tolerance in artist 书法. But I will tell you 少 with a little hook is wrong within the mainland China. Every educated person will tell you that's wrong. What we suppose to tell here is standard language. If you can approve that 少 with a little hook is possible in other regions, then you should point it out it's regional.  
> **username_1**: Please see this dictionary: http://m.zdic.net/z/?u=5C11  
> **username_2**: @username_1 If you understand 筆順, then you'll see that the most fluent and common way of writing *everywhere*, which is in 行書, does not distinguish between whether there's a hook or not at the end of the first stroke, as the bottom of the first stroke links naturally to the second stroke on the left. No serious person actually trained in Chinese writing will make a claim that having a hook is "wrong", and taking the advice of your so-called "educated people" (really, you just mean *laymen*) is like listening to a non-physicist on the matters of physics. I cannot give such misleading advice, sorry.  
> **username_1**: sorry if my word might somehow be impolite. You can take 行书 as a formal writing indeed. If you do that, then you would find there would be lots of varieties of character writing. So, normally, or by default we will take 正楷 as the standard way to render the formal writing. Think about if OP followed your advice and wrote it with a little hook in his exam, then he got wrong. That's not good though.  
> **username_1**: The reason why I pointed it out here is that I don't want OP and other learners to be confused or misled by your wording. Especially, your answer was so upvoted, which could also give Op a strong impression that what you put is very right. Of course, for daily writing, people don't usually care that much.  
> **username_1**: I don't usually do the downvoting, but I found sometimes the voting in this site is not based on the fact, but impressions, which sometimes misleads. This is not really a good thing.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 I cannot support your comments. This is like saying "if you don't make high school level assumptions about physics problems, you'll get marked wrong in an exam". Real usage of language/whatever else is not dictated by the things you get taught in high school, and it is misleading to suggest that it carries much weight at all. This site is about the entire Chinese language to help people increase general Chinese literacy, not about how the Chinese language is taught in school in the PRC; the latter is only something *to be aware of* to assist literacy.  

---

