#11  
Old August 12, 2009, 08:07 AM
brute's Avatar
brute brute is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: en el norte de Inglaterra
Posts: 526
Native Language: British English
brute is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by irmamar View Post
I agree with them, too, holandesita inglesa

Studying the examples of wordreference, I can see than they say:

A small car = un cochecito
A little cat = un gatito
A little boy = uni niño

Should I use "small" with inanimate objects and "little" with animate ones?
On the ferry to Sweden I thought I heard a German order a litre of oil at the bar (Ein Liter Öl)
In fact he was Swedish, asking for a small beer (En liten öl, tack)

Liten is a direct translation of little
Öl (Swedish) is a translation of ale (English beer)
Öl (German) is oil in English

I have also heard English people call beer Neck Oil

Last edited by brute; August 12, 2009 at 08:09 AM.
Reply With Quote
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #12  
Old August 12, 2009, 04:49 PM
brute's Avatar
brute brute is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: en el norte de Inglaterra
Posts: 526
Native Language: British English
brute is on a distinguished road
Little is the word most used by children and children's literature, fairy tales etc.
Little Red Riding Hood, Bo Peep, Jack Horner. It is a more affectionate word than small. Small in contrast can be used negatively.

What a nice little girl - affection
but
What is that small boy doing to my car? - disapproval

She is small-minded and mean, - disapproval
but Winnie the Poo is "A bear of little brain" - affection

A small town sounds less homely than a little village.

However, both words are usually interchangeable.

I
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old August 13, 2009, 01:57 AM
irmamar's Avatar
irmamar irmamar is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 7,071
Native Language: Español
irmamar is on a distinguished road
Thanks, Brute
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
chico, little, little v small, pequeño, small, vocab comparison

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Small doors taobuckets Translations 10 December 22, 2008 08:18 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:20 AM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X