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Mi volas diri "smaller". Ĉu estas ajna alieco en signifo inter "pli malgranda" kaj "malpli granda"? Ĉu ili estas ĝuste samaj?

I want to say "smaller". Is there any difference in meaning between "pli malgranda" and "malpli granda"? Are they exactly the same?

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"Pli malgranda" estas la supereca komparativo de "malgranda". "Malpli granda" estas la malsupereca komparativo de "granda". Vidu vortaro.net

La diferenco estas la sama en la angla. "Smaller" - "not as big / less big".

"Pli malgranda" is the positive comparative of "malgranda". "Malpli granda" is the negative comparative of "granda". See vortaro.net

The difference is the same in English. "Smaller" - "not as big / less big".

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    Would one use them differently? – Zuoanqh May 26 '18 at 0:55
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    Just as you would in English. If you want to compare the smallness use pli malgranda, if you want to compare the bigness, use malpli granda. It's a question of your own subjective communicative intention. – harlandski May 28 '18 at 4:45
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Imagine that you are buying a sofa. Your friend points to one next to you. You think that the sofa is huge. You want a smaller, more regular sized one. In this case, you would use malpli granda.

Now, imagine that you are buying a paintbrush. Your friend points to one next to you. You think that the paintbrush is small, but you need a really tiny one. In this case you would use pli malgranda.

Another example: there are two dogs playing in the park and someone asks you which dog is yours. ”Mia hundo estas la...”

  • Both dogs are big - la malpli granda
  • Both dogs are small - la pli malgranda
  • One is big, one is small - la malgranda
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