little man / figurine
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little man
A small man. Often used in fairy tales and legends or as a diminutive.
Im Märchen hilft ein Männlein der Königstochter, Stroh zu Gold zu spinnen.
In the fairy tale, a little man helps the king's daughter spin straw into gold.
'Männlein' (little man) is a diminutive form of 'der Mann' (the man). The ending '-lein' makes the noun small and cute and always changes the article to 'das'. The vowel often changes to an umlaut in the process (a → ä).
Aus dem kleinen Haus kam ein altes Männlein.
An old little man came out of the small house.
This word is used almost exclusively in fairy tales, legends, and old stories. In modern everyday language, people do not say 'Männlein' (little man) when they mean a small man.
Das tapfere Schneiderlein traf im Wald auf ein böses Männlein.
The brave little tailor met an evil little man in the forest.
When 'Männlein' (figurine) refers to a figure, it is often combined with the material the figure is made of. Typical examples are 'hölzernes Männlein' (wooden figurine) or 'Männlein aus Plastik' (plastic figurine).
Auf dem Schreibtisch stand ein kleines hölzernes Männlein.
There was a small wooden figurine on the desk.
man
'der Mann' and 'das Männlein' both have to do with a male person or a male figure. 'der Mann' is the normal word for an adult male person. 'das Männlein' means a little man or a small figure that looks like a man. It often sounds fairy-tale-like, cute, or a bit old-fashioned. The words can be confused because 'Männlein' comes from 'Mann'. But 'Männlein' is not normally used for an adult man in everyday life.
Im Schaufenster steht ein kleines Männlein aus Holz.
There is a small wooden figurine in the shop window.
Bei der Arbeit erklärt ein Mann dem neuen Kollegen den Computer.
At work, a man explains the computer to the new colleague.