Ways to say it
| Russian | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ма́ленький | málenʹkij |
| ма́лый | mályj |
In Russian, the choice of word depends on whether you are describing the physical dimensions of an object or an abstract concept or quantity. Use terms like ма́ло or немно́го when you want to say 'not much' as an adverb, and use ма́ло to denote a 'small amount' as a determiner.
Which one should you use?
ма́ленький is the common way to refer to the physical size of an object or a person. In contrast, ма́лый is used for abstract concepts, scales or quantities, such as a minor degree or a small amount, rather than physical dimensions.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective ма́ленький changes based on the gender and number of the noun it describes: the feminine form is ма́ленькая, the neuter form is ма́ленькое and the plural form is ма́ленькие.
How do you pronounce it?
málenʹkij
Did you know?
- Russian uses a specific word for 'little' when referring to the 'little finger', мизинец, which does not share a root with the general word for small.
- Russian speakers use the word ма́ленький to describe a short period of time, such as ма́ленький отпу́ск for a 'little vacation', whereas English speakers might say 'short'.
- If you want to say 'a little bit' of something specifically, Russians often use the word чу́ть-чуть, which is an entirely different lexical root than 'little'.
Examples in context
- Я купил маленькую книгуI bought a small book
- У нас есть небольшая проблемаWe have a small problem
- У тебя есть маленькая кошка?Do you have a little cat?
- Я хочу чуть-чуть кофеI want a little bit of coffee
- У меня есть ма́ленький кот.U menya yest' ma'len'kiy kot.I have a little cat.
- Это ма́ленький дом.Eto ma'len'kiy dom.This is a little house.
- Мне нужен ма́ленький стакан.Mne nuzhen ma'len'kiy stakan.I need a little glass.
Example conversation
Sergey and Anastasia are shopping for a gift in a cafe.
- Сергей SergeyТы хочешь этот ма́ленький торт?Ty khochesh' etot ma'len'kiy tort?Do you want this little cake?
- Анастасия AnastasiaДа, он выглядит очень вкусно.Da, on vyglyadit ochen' vkusno.Yes, it looks very delicious.
- Сергей SergeyАнастасия, он слишком ма́ленький для нас.Anastasiya, on slishkom ma'len'kiy dlya nas.Anastasia, it is too little for us.
- Анастасия AnastasiaТогда давай возьмём большой.Togda davay voz'myom bol'shoy.Then let's take a big one.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “little” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
