было мало

there was little; there were few

→ быть
phrase Uncommon #13,821
there was little; there were few An impersonal past-tense phrase used to say that there was only a small amount or number of something.
RU: Вчера на улице было мало машин.
EN: There were few cars on the street yesterday.

Вам было мало последнего урока?

Wasn't the last lesson enough for you?

— Конформист (1971)

На собрании было мало студентов.

There were few students at the meeting.

Но этого ему было мало.

But that wasn't enough for him.

— Анатомия падения (2023)

Этой зимой у нас было мало снега.

We haven't had much snow this winter.

У нас было мало воды.

We were low on water.

Таких камер было мало.

There were few cameras like that.

— Дипломная работа (1996)

В этом году было мало дождей.

There has been little rain this year.

Всё прошло на ура, ведь была ночь, людей было мало,..

Everything went great because it was nighttime and there weren’t many people...

— Двойная страховка (1944)

Нас было мало.

There were only a few of us.

Твоей матери его было мало.

Your mother wasn't satisfied with it.

— Битва за битвой (2025)

Денег было мало.

There was little money.