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- "वह तुझसे छोटा है ।"
16 Comments
256
छोटा is small, and therefore used for smaller (less) in age, eg मेरा छोटा भाई ... but is there not a better word in Hindi for young or younger? Otherwise, the above sentence might refer first to height, and not age..?
Ah you sound like an my annoying relatives teaching my Gujarati, it's just not that way.
Why can't जवान be used in comparison? Is there any kinda rule or is it random?
- 460
Good question -- for which I have no definitive answer aside from saying that choṭā is fine sounding for "younger* in this case, and I think it would be the default understanding. If you need to specify size, छोटे कद का should work, and if specifying age, I believe छोटी उमर का will do it!
Is said She instead of He and it was marked wrong. To make it correct for "She is younger than you," would chota have to be turned into choti?
- 355
I do not understand why it is not तुमसे ... Is the comparative built with indirect pronoun ?
- 376
तुम is polite (not the most polite). तू is intimate or impolite. So this is from तू, not from तुम.
Colloquially we say, "He is my little brother." for "He is my younger brother." Children sometimes say, "He is littler than me." for "He is younger than me." but never "He is smaller/shorter than me" to refer to age. The context usually makes if clear that age rather than size is meant for '"little, littler", but it does seem that the Hindi usage is more ambiguous as to size or age. Do you Hindi speakers ever find छोटा ambiguous?
