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How to say 

"Little" in Russian

Russian word of the day | Nov 17, 2017 (see all)
ма́ло
[ má-la ]
little, not enough, not much
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Examples of "Little" in Russian

  • Я ма́ло об э́том зна́ю.

    ya má-la ab é-tam zná-yu

    I do not know much about it.

  • Здесь ма́ло что измени́лось за то вре́мя, что меня́ не́ было.

    zdyes' má-la chto eez-mee-née-las' za to vryé-mya chto mee-nya nyé by-la

    Little has changed here while I was away.

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Same stem words

ма́ленький [má-leen'-keeî] Adjective
little, small

Additional examples

More Russian sentences with the words that contain "мало".

  • Купи́ хле́ба про запа́с, ма́ло ли, го́сти приду́т.

    ku-pée hlyé-ba pro za-pás, má-la lee gós-tee pree-dút

    Buy some bread in reserve, in case the guests will come.

  • В бу́дни здесь посети́телей ма́ло.

    v búd-nee zdyes' pa-see-tée-tee-lyeî má-la

    There are few visitors here on weekdays.

  • Есть поисковики́, кото́рые лу́чше, чем все ли́деры ры́нка, но о них ма́ло кто зна́ет.

    yest' pa-ees-ka-vee-kée, ka-tó-ry-yé lúch-she, chyem fsye lée-dee-ry rýn-ka, no a neeh má-la kto zná-eet

    There are search engines that are better than all the market leaders, but few people know about them.

  • Дава́й возьмём с собо́й зо́нтик, ма́ло ли дождь пойдёт.

    da-vái vaz'-myóm s sa-bói zón-teek, má-la lee dozhd' pai-dyót

    Let's take an umbrella with us, in case it is going to rain.

  • Лу́чше перестрахова́ться, ма́ло ли что мо́жет случи́ться.

    lúch-she pye-rye-stra-ha-vá-tsa, má-la lee chto mó-zhet slu-chée-tsa

    It's better to play safe, you never know what can happen.

  • Обраща́ться к малоизве́стным исто́чникам с це́лью по́иска и́стины всегда́ продукти́внее, чем приду́мывать объясне́ния, почему́ э́тим исто́чникам нельзя́ ве́рить.

    ab-ra-schá-tsa k ma-la-eez-vyés-nym ees-tóch-nee-kam s tsél'-yu pó-ees-ka ées-tee-ny fseeg-dá pra-duk-téev-nye-ye, chyem pree-dú-my-vat' ab'-ees-nyé-nee-ya, pa-chee-mú é-teem ees-tóch-nee-kam neel'-zyá vyé-reet'

    Turning to little-known sources in order to find the truth is always more productive than coming up with explanations for why these sources cannot be trusted.

  • Так как у них бы́ло ма́ло свое́й террито́рии, они́ ста́ли захва́тывать чужи́е зе́мли и открыва́ть там свои́ коло́нии.

    tak kak u neeh bý-la má-la sva-yéî teer-ree-tó-ree-ee, a-née stá-lee za-hvá-ty-vat' chu-zhée-ye zyém-lee eeat-kry-vát' tam sva-ée ka-ló-nee-ee

    Since they had little territory of their own, they began to seize foreign lands and open their colonies there.

  • Пробле́ма искривле́ния позвоно́чника о́стро вста́ла пе́ред совреме́нным поколе́нием люде́й, веду́щих малоакти́вный о́браз жи́зни.

    prab-lyé-ma ees-kreev-lyé-nee-ya paz-va-nóch-nee-ka óst-ra fstá-la pyé-reet sav-ree-myén-nym pa-ka-lyé-nee-yem lyu-dyéî, vee-dú-scheeh ma-la-ak-téev-nyî ób-ras zhéez-nee

    The problem of curvature of the spine is acutely faced by the modern generation of people leading an inactive lifestyle.

  • Прокла́дывание водопрово́да – дово́льно трудоёмкая рабо́та, кото́рая тре́бует нема́ло вре́мени и сил.

    pra-klá-dy-vá-nee-ye va-da-pra-vó-da - da-vól'-na tru-da-yóm-ka-ya ra-bó-ta, ka-tó-ra-ya tryé-bu-yet nee-má-la vryé-mee-nee ee seel

    Laying a water pipeline is a rather labor-intensive job that requires a lot of time and effort.

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4 thoughts on “Мало

    • Learn Russian Words says:

      Hi Anita,

      It’s just the way we say it. You can remove it, although it sounds better with it.

      Or you can add что to the first example as well:

      – Я мало что об этом знаю.

      It does not change the meaning of the sentence, just makes it sound more natural.

        • Learn Russian Words says:

          Good question. I think it’s a good idea to add it when the object of “мало” is omitted.

          It can also change in cases:

          – Я мало чем могу вас удивить.
          There is little I can surprise you with.

          In this case, you can’t omit чем, it just does not work without.

          I think I should correct myself from earlier: it’s not always you can omit it, it’s safer to use it when мало comes without an object.

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