少ない
sukunai
Customers and a paycheck can both be 'few'
The picture The container is the same size, but what's inside falls short and the bottom shows. 少ない is a count falling short of the space; 多い is a count filling it.
Where the picture shows up in 少ない
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few people
平日はお客さんが少ないです。
heijitsu wa okyakusan ga sukunai desu
There aren't many customers on weekdays.
Every light on in the shop and five tables sitting empty
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a small amount of money
給料が少なくて困っています。
kyūryō ga sukunaku-te komat-te i-masu
My pay is low, and it's hard.
Notes pulled from the envelope, and the counting fingers stop almost at once
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few times
休みが少ない月です。
yasumi ga sukunai tsuki desu
It's a month with few days off.
A calendar page with exactly one red number on it
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little information
情報が少ないので決められません。
jōhō ga sukunai node kime-rare-masen
There's too little information, so I can't decide.
One sheet alone on the desk, a pen picked up and set down again
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at the very least
少なくとも三日かかります。
sukunaku-tomo mikka kakari-masu
It will take at least three days.
Three fingers held up, planted firmly as if to say it won't be fewer
少なくとも is a set phrase: 'at the lowest estimate, this much'.
All of it in one picture
少ない is one picture: the space left unfilled. Customers fall short and chairs sit empty; money falls short and the end of the month is hard; days off fall short and there's no box to rest in. Information falls short and you hold off deciding — and putting 少なくとも in front sets a floor you won't go under.