difference between mostly and largely

[popri]

Hi.
A non-native friend says that ‘largely’ talks about how big the item is and ‘mostly’ talks about how many items there are. Is that true?

Here is an example sentence: The team consists largely of high school students. In this case, are largely and mostly interchangeable?

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

1. No.

2. Yes: also 'mainly or 'chiefly'.

 

[popri]

Thank you for teaching.
How can I use these two words differently? I have no idea which one and when I should use.

Here is another example sentence.
The students learning Japanese in this school are mostly from Asian countries.
In this case, can I use largely instead of mostly?

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes. They both mean 'to a great extent'.

 

[jutfrank]

I make a subtle distinction here. Others may not. But anyway, this is how I would suggest using these similar words differently:

Use mostly to talk about the greatest part of a whole. If there's a team and nine out of eleven members are highschool students, then I would say

The team consists mostly of highschool students. (Nine is the greatest part of eleven.)

mostly is good when the idea is of quantity. A synonym could be for the most part.


Use largely when the idea is of degree. A synonym could be to a large degree.

The book is largely based on a true story.
It's largely a matter of taste.
He failed largely because of his pride.

 

[popri]

Thank you for explaining. The examples are great help.

 

[Tdol]

Please leave threads open. They will close automatically if no one replies after some time, but leaving them open allows other people to add things, and they may have something to say. Thanks.

 

[popri]

I understand. I've opened it.