This is the 169th most frequent Chinese word.
少
"少" means "few," "little," or "less."
In this context, 少 (shǎo) is used as an adjective, meaning 'few' or 'less' to describe the quantity of students.
我们班的学生比其他班少。
There are fewer students in our class compared to other classes.
In this case, 少 (shǎo) is used to imply 'fewer,' highlighting a comparative aspect. Hoever, here it implies a condition rather than a strict count.
你要早点儿来，不然就少赶上了。
You should come earlier, or else you would catch fewer options.
Here, 少 (shǎo) is used as a modifier to mean 'small' when describing 'amount' (少量)。