mal-

Mal-: Opposites

Level 2

Mal- turns a word into its opposite.

How It Works

WordWith mal-Meaning
grandamalgrandabig, small
bonamalbonagood, bad
amikomalamikofriend, enemy
fermimalfermiclose, open
rapidemalrapidequickly, slowly

Read the parts of a new word: mal·grand·a is opposite · big · adjective, so it means small. The ending stays the same, so the new word is the same kind of word as the old one.

Mal- gives the direct opposite, so use it only with words that have one. Not every opposite uses mal-. Day and night, for example, are tago and nokto.

Examples (5)

  1. Mia domo estas malgranda, sed Ewa havas grandan domon.

    My house is small, but Ewa has a big house.

    Malgranda is granda with mal- in front.

  2. La teo estas varma, sed la kafo estas malvarma.

    The tea is hot, but the coffee is cold.

    Malvarma is the opposite of varma.

  3. Kenji malfermas la pordon.

    Kenji opens the door.

    Malfermi is the opposite of fermi, and it works with verbs too.

  4. Paulo estas mia amiko, ne malamiko.

    Paulo is my friend, not an enemy.

    Mal- also works with nouns.

  5. Ŝi parolas malrapide.

    She speaks slowly.

    Malrapide is rapide with mal- in front.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mal-Level 2Mal-: Opposites

Learn This First

Mal- is a small part added in front of a root.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.