kleinere

Kleinere is the comparative form of the German adjective klein, meaning smaller. In standard German, it is used as an attributive adjective before a noun and must be declined to agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. This form often appears when describing a version or amount that is smaller than another.

Usage and examples:

- Singular feminine: eine kleinere Wohnung (a smaller apartment).

- Plural, without a definite article: kleinere Häuser (smaller houses).

- Plural with a definite article: die kleineren Kinder (the smaller children).

These examples illustrate how the ending of kleinere changes with the noun its modifies, reflecting the surrounding grammatical context.

Morphology and scope:

Kleinere originates from the base adjective klein and takes an inflected ending appropriate to the noun it describes. The form is most common in attributive position, as in the examples above. When used predicatively or after certain determiners, other inflected forms of klein appear, such as kleiner or am kleinsten, depending on tense, comparison, and noun.

Etymology:

The word derives from Old High German kleīn, with the comparative suffix common to Germanic adjectives. It shares roots with related forms in other Germanic languages that express a relative size.

See also:

- klein, the base adjective meaning small

- kleiner, the standard masculine singular comparative form

- am kleinsten, the superlative form

Kleinere is a practical and common way to express a relative reduction in size in German, spanning everyday comparisons and descriptive summaries.

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