C++ is only slightly larger than any other language if you subtract the standard libraries that make a language useful. If you add standard libraries C++ is a tiny language.
C++ does have a lot of weird, inconsistent warts that make it tricky to learn/use everything. Which is why most people who advocate to use C++ talk about modern C++ which is C++ where you stay away from those warts.
"C++ a tiny language" - just in case anybody is missing the obvious sarcasm, people who have done it say that implementing a C++ front end takes a decade of effort: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17130870
C++ does have a lot of weird, inconsistent warts that make it tricky to learn/use everything. Which is why most people who advocate to use C++ talk about modern C++ which is C++ where you stay away from those warts.