Learning materials make it clear early that -eta is not the same as malgranda.

For example, "malgranda domo" is just "small house" but "dometa" is "cottage". Not quite the same thing.

However ...

What about when "eta" is a standalone word? Is "la eta domo" exactly equal to "la malgranda domo"? Or is there some other shade of meaning implied?

Malgranda seems to me more literal to me than eta. I wouldn't say Li havas etan kapon meaning his head was physically small.

But I might refer to someone as etmensa meaning narrow-minded/small-minded.

Perhaps you could say eta = diminutive/minor/lesser in a broad sense, malgranda = small.

Sometimes et as a suffix has a cutesy feel to it.

The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) in Esperanto is "La Eta Princo" It would sound very strange to me if the book were titled "La Malgranda Princo".

I agree with Sudanglo that "eta" implies smallness, cuteness, etc. in a way that "malgranda" does not. "Eta" is more of a subjective than an objective description.

Accordingly, et- can also have a pejorative sense (like "petty" in English), e.g.

etanime : small-minded, petty
etburĝaro : petty bourgeoisue
etigi : to belittle

whereas there is no "value judgement" when using malgranda.

Amike,

Paul