较少 is an adverb meaning 'relatively fewer' or 'comparatively less'. It combines 较 (jiào), meaning 'relatively' or 'comparatively', and 少 (shǎo), meaning 'few' or 'little'. Together, they express a comparative degree of scarcity—not absolute scarcity, but less than something else implied or stated in context. It is commonly used in formal or written Chinese, especially in reports, academic writing, and descriptive comparisons.

This term often appears before nouns (e.g., 较少人, 较少机会) or verbs (e.g., 较少出现, 较少使用) to indicate lower frequency, quantity, or likelihood relative to a norm or alternative. Unlike the standalone 少, which can be absolute or qualitative, 较少 always carries an implicit or explicit comparison—making it unsuitable for absolute statements like 'There are no pandas left' (which would use 没有 or 极少). It’s frequently paired with words like 情况, 机会, 人, or 动物 to describe observable trends.