小

xiao

small, little, young

small (丿 + ㇏), but stable (亅) 

少

shao

few, little, less

少年 youth (literally young few); 少将 major general (junior rank)

少有的 rare (ironically meaning "few-have")

多少 How much? (combining opposites)

not just small (小) but with a minus (丿) reduced to a few

目

mu

eye

the shape of an eye with a pupil

省

sheng

to save/economize

province

to reflect, to self-examine

省钱 to save money; 反省 to reflect on oneself, to self-examine; 

省份 province

left with a few (少) watch out (目) how to save and take a closer look on provinces to be sure that they reflect on how to economize 

肉

rou

meat; flesh

Represents the shape of tissues (仌) that appear when a meat is cut (冂).

肖

xiao

resemble, be like

不肖 unworthy (lit. "not resembling", someone not living up to a standard)

生肖 Zodiac (animals representing birth years)

the two opposite strokes (\ ו ∕) same as the two horizontal lines inside moon (月) resemble each other 

ancient small (\ ו ∕) body (肉) of a son resembles the large body of a parent

消

xiao

to disappear, to vanish

to eliminate, to consume

消费 (consume/spend); 

the amniotic fluid (氵) resembles (肖) a small pool, which disappears with time as a small body (肖) becomes bigger and bigger

尗

beans, legumes

above (上) and small (小) as a bean 

尗 is an ancient variant of 菽 (beans/legumes)

Ancient texts wrote 尗, but cooks now say 豆 (dòu)!

叔

shu

father's younger brother; uncle;

third in order

大叔 older uncle (often used casually to refer to middle-aged men)

beans (尗) should be picked up with hands (又) by those who are third in order, and thus too young to work hard, like father’s younger brother