"I suoi cani sono più piccoli."

Translation: His dogs are smaller.

[ToddDowty]

What's the piont of the "piu"? A new word that means... nothing?!

[tmac876]

How, then, would I say, "His dogs are the smallest"?

[f.formica]

Simply with an article :) "I suoi cani sono i più piccoli". This is called "superlativo assoluto", while without the article it's "superlativo relativo".

[tmac876]

Ah, that makes total sense. With the article "the", it would be "the smallest" because "the smaller" is incorrect. Great, that helps a lot. Thanks again!

[Metlieb]

Is the italian più similar to the spanish más? E.g. I suoi cani sono più piccoli / Sus perros son más pequenos?

[Cbasty]

Why does DL show più piccoli translated as "younger" in the drop down when this is... smaller?

[f.formica]

For people often piccolo = young and grande = old: there are many contexts where "giovane" and "vecchio" would be inappropriate. When speaking of an animal "piccolo" as a noun is a catch all term for the baby of a species. This sentence could refer to age too.