How to Say ‘Fewer customers came.’ in Simplified Chinese
来的客人少了。
lái de kè rén shǎo le
[lie de kèrén shǎo le]
💬 Usage Tip: 来的 turns "come" into a description: "the customers who came". Then 少了 means "became fewer", so the 了 shows the change.
Phrase Breakdown
来的客人
lái de kè rén
the customers who come
来的 (who come) describes 客人 (kèrén, customers/guests). 的 links them and is light.
来的客人很多。
Many customers came.
Words in this phrase
来
lái
[lie]
to come
A verb meaning “to come,” often used when asking if someone has come to an event before.
你常来这样的行业活动吗？
Do you often come to these kinds of industry events?
的
de
[de]
the one (nominalizer)
Placed after a word to mean 'the ... one', replacing a noun.
我要大的。
I want the big one.
客人
kè rén
[kèrén]
customer; guest
People who visit a store or home.
店里的客人不多。
There aren't many customers in the store.
少了。
shǎo le
became fewer
少 (shǎo, few) + 了 (change). Together they mean 'there are fewer now'.
人少了。
There are fewer people now.
Words in this phrase
少
shǎo
[shǎo]
few; less
Small in number or amount.
今天人很少。
There are few people today.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
Used with 快…了 to show something is about to happen.
火车快来了。
The train is about to arrive.
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