[8] The use of litotes is common in English, Russian, German, Yiddish, Dutch, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ukrainian, Polish, Chinese, French, Czech and Slovak, and is also prevalent in a number of other languages and dialects.
The meaning and the function of the word changed from 'simple' to the idea of understatement that involves double negatives, a way to state things simply.
[11] Litotes can be used to establish ethos, or credibility, by expressing modesty or downplaying one's accomplishments to gain the audience's favor.
In the book Rhetorica ad Herennium, litotes is addressed as a member of the Figures of Thought known as deminutio, or understatement.
In Book 24 of the Iliad, Zeus describes Achilles as follows: οὔτε γάρ ἔστ᾽ ἄφρων οὔτ᾽ ἄσκοπος, 'for not without wisdom is he, neither without purpose',[a] meaning that he is both wise and prudent.
The heroine, Chimène, says to her lover Rodrigue, who just killed her father: Va, je ne te hais point ('Go, I hate you not'), meaning 'I love you'.
In Chinese, the phrase 不错 (Pinyin: bù cuò, traditional characters 不錯, literally 'not wrong') is often used to present something as very good or correct.
Also, the phrase 不简单 (pinyin bù jiǎn dān, traditional characters 不簡單, literally 'not simple') is used to refer to an impressive feat.
Similarly, in Dutch, the phrase niet slecht (also literally meaning 'not bad') is often used to present something as very good or correct, as is German nicht schlecht.
In Italian, meno male (literally 'less bad') is similar to the English expression, 'So much the better' – used to comment that a situation is more desirable than its negative (cf.