Lo pequeño es numeroso

English translation: Infinitesimal but infinite / Minute but massive

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:Lo pequeño es numeroso
English translation:Infinitesimal but infinite / Minute but massive
Entered by: Carol Gullidge

12:41 Jan 11, 2021
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Science - Science (general)
Spanish term or phrase: Lo pequeño es numeroso
Hi,

This is a heading for a chapter that appears in a book about marine biology. 'Pequeño' refers to bacteria. 'Numeroso' refers to their large abundance in the ocean.

The author uses the chapter to calculate the biomass of bacteria and whales. He then compares the two and concludes that bacteria is in extreme abundance compared to whales, meaning if you put every whale and every bacteria on scales, the bacteria would be x amount greater.

I was thinking something literal like 'Little things abound', but I'm sure there's a more creative translation for it
Adam, MA Trans
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:52
Infinitesimal but infinite / Minute but massive
Explanation:
infinitesimal in size (minute) but massive in number
Selected response from:

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:52
Grading comment
First validated answer (validated by peer agreement)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4Infinitesimal but infinite / Minute but massive
Carol Gullidge
3 +2Tiny but mighty/Small but mighty
liz askew
3 +1the small are many
Steven Huddleston
4Tiny but abundant OR Tiny but in abundance
Yvonne Gallagher
3A profusion of tininess
Maria Delgado
2 +1Small is plentiful
Ana Vozone
3The bigger the lesser
ormiston
2the unseen majority
Marian Vieyra


Discussion entries: 10





  

Answers


13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the small are many


Explanation:
My attempt.

Steven Huddleston
Mexico
Local time: 00:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Toni Castano: Simple, effective and to the point.
1 hr
  -> ¡Gracias Toni!

neutral  Carol Gullidge: Not pithy enough for a heading. But I wouldn’t stoop to posting a Disagree on a colleague’s Answer unless it were blatantly misleading - definitely non-U (I.e., not the done thing on this website!)
1 hr
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43 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
A profusion of tininess


Explanation:
I have to say I like really like your version. Little things abound is precise and to the point.
Anyway, here's my option.

Maria Delgado
Chile
Local time: 03:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Tiny but mighty/Small but mighty


Explanation:

(PDF) Small but Mighty: Cell Size and Bacteria - ResearchGatewww.researchgate.net › publication › 278047724_Small_...
10 Oct 2020 — Small but Mighty: Cell Size and Bacteria · Abstract · Citations (39) · References (51) · Recommendations.

Tiny But Mighty - Schmidt Ocean Instituteschmidtocean.org › cruise-log-post › tiny-but-mighty
18 Aug 2019 — Marine microbes (bacteria, archaea, and viruses) are tiny. They are less than one-hundredth the width of a human hair—too small to see with ...

liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 39

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Carol Gullidge: this works perfectly!
0 min

neutral  Toni Castano: Mighty, why mighty? Does the source say that bacteria are mighty?
46 mins

agree  Cláudia Pinheiro Pereira
7 hrs
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Infinitesimal but infinite / Minute but massive


Explanation:
infinitesimal in size (minute) but massive in number

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
First validated answer (validated by peer agreement)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Steven Huddleston: Massive is about size, not numbers, unless you use something like "population" as a subject. Infinite can never be taken as a synonym of numerous or abundant, which are clearly finite concepts.
26 mins
  -> Sorry, but a number CAN be massive, gigantic, huge, vast, etc., etc.! And don't forget that, as a heading, this needs to be pithy above all!

agree  Althea Draper: 'Minute but massive' ties in with both the size of the individual bacteria and the huge number of the bacteria and their combined weight (massive - very large in size, amount, or number), with the additional advantage of it being an alliteration
2 hrs
  -> Many thanks Althea! Neat analysis, perfectly summing up my intentions :)

agree  philgoddard: I like the concision and alliteration of "minute but massive".
3 hrs
  -> Many thanks Phil :)

agree  Neil Ashby: I like "minute but infinite", I don't think alliteration is necessary ;@)
4 hrs
  -> Many thanks Neil! I like your version as well!

agree  Cláudia Pinheiro Pereira
7 hrs
  -> Thanks Cláudia!

agree  Muriel Vasconcellos: Minute but massive
7 hrs
  -> Thanks Muriel!
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Small is plentiful


Explanation:
https://www.google.com/search?q="small is plentiful"&oq="sma...


    Reference: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/291391977_Small_is_P...
Ana Vozone
Local time: 06:52
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Toni Castano: Another good option.
45 mins
  -> Thanks, Toni!
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
the unseen majority


Explanation:
Just a suggestion. There are quite a few mentions in scholarly articles on the web.


    https://www.pnas.org/content/95/12/6578
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18047587/
Marian Vieyra
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Tiny but abundant OR Tiny but in abundance


Explanation:
that is actiully what the source says (and close to your own idea of "Little things abound")

Some of these suggestions are over-translations, extrapolating too much from the source text. Yes, these bacteria can be "mighty" (and it probably says as much elsewhere in your text)
but "numeroso" = numerous = a large number and its synonymns

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200529150640.h...


Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 06:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
The bigger the lesser


Explanation:
My stab at it, with echoes of the bigger the better...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour 8 heures (2021-01-12 21:02:52 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

On reflection, and more straightforward, what about:
'small in size, large in number' ?


ormiston
Local time: 07:52
Native speaker of: English
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