稍微

shāowēi

adverb HSK 5 #2,515

Meanings

Both characters mean 'slightly' — doubled for emphasis on a small degree.

Nǐ néng shāowēi shuō màn yīdiǎn ma?

Could you speak a little slower?

Jīntiān shāowēi yǒudiǎn lèi.

I'm a little bit tired today.

Shāowēi xiūxi yīxià jiù hǎo le.

Just rest a little and you'll be fine.

Zhè dào cài shāowēi xián le yīdiǎn.

This dish is a little too salty.

usage

稍微 is extremely common in spoken Chinese. It often pairs with 一点 or 一下 at the end: 稍微...一点/一下.

usage

Similar adverbs of degree: 稍微 ≈ 有点 (yǒudiǎn) ≈ 略 (lüè, more formal). 稍微 feels slightly more polite than 有点.

稍 shāo

微 wēi