Explanation
Use "the fewest" with countable plural nouns like "students," "books," and "mistakes." Use "the least" with uncountable nouns like "time," "water," and "salt."
In "This class has the fewest students in the school," "this class" is the thing we compare, "has" shows possession, and "the fewest students" means the smallest number of students. English chooses the form by the noun type, but Japanese often uses the same idea, like "いちばん少ない," for both. In "We have the least time today," "time" cannot be counted one by one, so "least" is correct.
「the fewest」は、students, books, mistakes のような数えられる複数名詞と一緒に使います。「the least」は、time, water, salt のような数えられない名詞と一緒に使います。
"This class has the fewest students in the school." では、"this class" が比べるもの、"has" が動詞、"the fewest students" が「生徒数がいちばん少ない」という意味です。英語では名詞の種類で形を選びますが、日本語ではどちらも「いちばん少ない」で言えることが多いです。"We have the least time today." では、"time" は1つずつ数えないので、"least" が正しいです。
Examples
- This class has the fewest students in the school. このクラスは学校で生徒数がいちばん少ないです。
- That plant needs the least water to live. その植物は、生きるのに必要な水が最も少ない。
- Which route has the fewest traffic lights? どのルートが信号の数がいちばん少ないですか。
- I used the least salt in the soup. スープには塩をいちばん少なく入れました。
- Her bag had the fewest things, so it was easy to carry. 彼女のバッグは中身がいちばん少なかったので、持ち運びが楽でした。
- My car uses the least gas. 私の車はガソリン消費量が一番少ない。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often use "least" with countable nouns, or "fewest" with uncountable nouns.
Wrong: "the least students" and "the fewest water."
Right: "the fewest students" and "the least water."
日本語ではどちらも「いちばん少ない」と言えるので、countable と uncountable をまちがえやすいです。
誤り: "the least students"、"the fewest water"。
正しくは "the fewest students" と "the least water" です。