Malého

Malého is the genitive singular form of the Czech and Slovak adjective malý, meaning small or little. It is used to describe a masculine or neuter noun in the genitive case and appears in a variety of phrases to indicate size, importance, or relation.

In standard usage, malého precedes a noun to express “of a small X” or “a small X,” such as barva malého psa (the color of a small dog) or dům malého města (the house of a small town). The form also occurs in phrases describing quantity or characteristics, and in literary or formal language it can convey nuance about size or degree. In both languages, adjectives decline to agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case, and malého specifically marks genitive singular.

The form also functions as the genitive of the common Czech surname Malý. In biographical or possessive constructions, you may encounter phrases like dům Malého (the house of Malý) or knížka Malého (Malý’s book), where the capitalized form reflects the surname.

Etymologically, malý is a native Slavic adjective with cognates across West Slavic languages, used to denote small size or lesser degree. As a grammatical form, malého is limited to contexts requiring the genitive singular and is not a standalone word outside such constructions. See also malý for the base adjective.