Wee means small, tiny or little. That is the meaning the Scottish National Dictionary gives: “Small, tiny, little, restricted in size” (DSL). You will hear it on your first morning, from the wee café on the corner to a wee dram after dinner.
Where does the word wee come from?
It began as a noun, not an adjective. The dictionary says “the word is orig. a noun from O.E. wēȝ, wǣȝ, a weight” and that it is first found in Older Scots in 1375, in a phrase meaning a small quantity or a short time or distance. As an adjective for “small” it appears from 1450 (DSL). So “a wee bit” once meant, roughly, “a little amount”.
What does “a wee bit” mean?
The dictionary gives it as “very small, tiny, somewhat, rather, to a small extent”. In everyday talk it softens a sentence: “It is a wee bit far” means it is a little far. Our own example: “Would you like a wee bit of shortbread?” is an offer, not a measurement.
What is a wee dram?
A dram is a drink of spirits, and the dictionary adds that in Scotland it “can be a drink of any size, esp. of whisky” (DSL). So “wee” in front of it is part habit and part politeness. If you want to try a few, our Guide No. 005 on Scots and Scottish slang has more, and a whisky flight like the one above is a gentle way to start in Edinburgh.
What is a wean?
A wean is a child. The dictionary defines it as “a child, esp. a young child before its teens”, and explains it as “a reduced form of Wee + Ane”, meaning “wee one”. It is recorded from 1624 and, it says, is now “fairly gen.” in Mid Scots, the label for the central dialect area (DSL). The older word bairn is covered in Bairn and Wean: Scottish Words for a Child.
Do Scots really say wee all the time?
Often, yes, though how often depends on who you meet. It is a friendly word, and a good one to borrow. Our guide to how difficult the Scottish accent is will help you with the rest of what you hear.
More words like these are on our hub page, Scottish Words and Sayings: What They Mean. Want them to take with you? Get our free Scots words cheat sheet (a short PDF).
Last checked: 14 November 2026, against the Dictionary of the Scots Language (dsl.ac.uk). The example sentences are our own.
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