Understanding diminutives can help you to connect better with natives
A diminutive is a suffix added to a word to indicate smallness or convey affection. While diminutives are especially common in Romance languages like Italian and Portuguese, they also appear in other languages, including English, as seen in words like "daddy," "booklet," "bunny," and "little table," to name a few examples.
In Spanish, diminutives are widely used across various parts of speech: nouns (e.g., casita: little hourse, librito: little book), adjectives (e.g., pequeñito: tiny, modernita: a bit modern), adverbs (e.g., rapidito: quickly), numerals (e.g., dosito: two), and even gerunds (e.g., corriendito: running).
Understanding how different diminutives are formed helps non-native students develop grammatical and sociolinguistic competence. Furthermore, using diminutives aids in understanding how the language establishes various social relationships and expresses courtesy. Similarly, it enables effective communication with native speakers while acknowledging cultural context.
Voskuilen. L. (2019) points out that in Spain, speakers with a higher level of education use around 13 diminutives per 5,000 words, while in Mexico, the number rises to about 21 diminutives for the same number of words. Overall, diminutives are widely used across all Spanish-speaking countries, but their use is more prevalent in Latin America than in the Iberian Peninsula. The same study indicates that in Madrid, women use diminutives 1.5 times more often than men. It also shows that, when it comes to age, young people use diminutives more frequently than older people.
Diminutives can vary depending on the region and context. The following table show how to form diminutives in Spanish according to the Royal Spanish Academy, with the most common suffixes and examples for each case:
Diminutive Suffix |
Usage |
Examples |
-ito / -ita |
They are most used to express that something is smaller or to show affection. |
· perro → perrito (little dog) · hermano → hermanito (little brother) · beso → besito (little kiss) · amigo → amiguito (little friend) · viejo → viejito (little old) · cuidado → cuidadito (a bit careful) · mojado → mojadito (little wet) · pueblo → pueblito (small town) · bueno → buenito (little good) · fea → feita (little ugly) · mesa → mesita (little table) · hija → hijita (little daughter) · casa → casita (little house) · maleta → maletita (small suitcase) · amiga → amiguita (dear friend) · niña → niñita (little girl) · ahora → ahorita (right now) · baja → bajita (a bit short) · delgada → delgadita (a bit slim) |
-cito / - cita |
Like the previous category, they are also used to express that something is smaller or to show affection. |
· té → tecito (a small tea) · corazón → corazoncito (little heart) · grande → grandecito (little big) · pez → pececito (little fish) · tren → trencito (little train) · dolor → dolorcito (little pain) · calor → calorcito (a bit warm) · color → colorcito (little colour) · bar → barcito (a small bar) · nuevo – nuevecito (completely new) · canción → cancioncita (little song) · flor → florecita (little flower) · cabeza → cabecita (little head) · noche → nochecita (little night) |
-illo / -illa |
They are used in various Spanish-speaking regions, often colloquial. |
· conejo → conejillo (little rabbit) · chico → chiquillo (little boy) · camino → caminillo (little road) · árbol → arbolillo (a small tree) · guapo → guapillo (a bit handsome) · pan → panecillo (little bread) · papel → papelillo (little paper) · mercado → mercadillo (small market) · amor → amorcillo (little love) · cuerpo → cuerpecillo (small body) · abuelo → abuelillo (little grandfather) · pelo – pelillo (small hair) · pájaro – pajarillo (small bird) · ventana → ventanilla (small window) · mentirosa → mentirosilla (little liar) · mesa → mesilla (small table) · oveja → ovejilla (little sheep) · paloma – palomilla (small pigeon) |
-ete / -eta |
Used to convey a small size or affectionate tone. |
· libro → librete (little book) · viejo → vejete (an old man) · amigo → amiguete (a friend) · gordo → gordete (a chubby boy) · bajo → bajete (small, short) · pesado → pesadete (a bit heavy) · lunar → lunarete (little mole) · palacio – palacete (small palace) · barril – barrilete (small barrel) · lugar → lugarete (a place) · plaza → placeta (little square) · banca → banqueta (little stool) · cebolla → cebolleta (chive) · papel → papeleta (ballot) |
-ico / -ica |
Commonly used in some regions (e.g., Spain and Latin American countries, e.g., Costa Rica) |
· caliente → calientico (a bit warm) · completo → completico (complete) · envuelto → envueltico (wrapped) · corto → cortico (a bit short) · alta → altica (a bit tall) · galleta → galletica (little biscuit) |
-ín / -ina |
Adds a tone of affection or smallness, used regionally. |
· jardín → jardinín (little garden) · heroína → heroinita (little heroine) · pequeño → pequiñín (little guy) · cómodo → comodín (a bit comfy) · silla → sillín (a saddle) · peluca → peluquín (a toupee) · taza → tazina (small cup) · cuchara → cucharina (small spoon) |
-uelo / -uela |
Can imply a slightly derogatory or less significant quality. |
· muchacho → muchachuelo (young guy) · amor → amorzuelo (sweetheart) · ladrón – ladronzuelo (the little thief) · chica → chicuela (little girl) · mujer → mujerzuela (slut) |
-ejo / -eja |
They often convey a sense of smallness or, in some cases, a pejorative or less flattering connotation. |
· lugar → lugarejo (small place) · páparo → pajarejo (small bird) · calle → calleja (small street)
|
-ino / -ina |
Used to express a smaller or affectionate form, less common. |
· niño → niñino (little child) · vecina → vecinina (little neighbour) · chica → chiquitina (little girl) · mona → monina (little friend) |
-uco / -uca |
Often used with a regional or rustic tone, sometimes pejorative. |
· malo → maluco (bad thing) · cosa → cosuca (little thing)
|
Diminutives may carry different connotations depending
on the region and the context in which they are used. Sometimes, they can
express affection, while in other cases, they can imply that something is small
or has a lesser quality or value.
Diminutives are frequently used in language directed at children. Some diminutives have become common in everyday language and even allow for further diminutives: from ahorita mismo: right now, you can get ahoritica mismo: right this very moment.
Communicating with others using diminutives is fascinating. When used correctly, they help us connect more effectively with others, especially native speakers. Let's start incorporating them more often when practicing Spanish.
Bibliography:
- Real Academia Española (RAE), no date. Diminutivo. [online] Available at: https://www.rae.es/gtg/diminutivo
- Real Academia Española (RAE), no date. Clases de apreciativos. Los diminutivos. [online] Available at: https://www.rae.es/buen-uso-espa%C3%B1ol/clases-de-apreciativos-los-diminutivos
- Real Academia Española (RAE), no date. Formación de los diminutivos II: Distribución de variantes. [online] Available at: https://www.rae.es/gram%C3%A1tica/morfolog%C3%ADa/formaci%C3%B3n-de-los-diminutivos-ii-distribuci%C3%B3n-de-variantes
- Real Academia Española (RAE) no date. Interpretación de los diminutivos. [online] Available at: https://www.rae.es/gram%c3%a1tica/morfolog%C3%ADa/interpretaciones-de-los-diminutivos#9.6
- Rodríguez, L. (2018). Una cosita que revela tu origen: el diminutivo. Verne El País, 30 January.
- Jabato, A., 2018. Por qué decimos "ita" en vez de "ito" (y viceversa) en los diminutivos. Verne El País, [online] 30 January. Available at: https://verne.elpais.com/verne/2018/01/30/articulo/1517326334_976812.html
- Godinez-Aparicio, A., 1992. Revisión histórica, dialectológica y sociolingüística de los diminutivos. Core, [pdf] Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/75992849.pdf
- Izquierdo Labrado, J., 2023. Revisión histórica, dialectológica y sociolingüística de los diminutivos. Dialnet. [online] Available at: file:///C:/Users/Isabel7420/Downloads/Dialnet-RevisionHistoricaDialectologicaYSociolinguisticaDe-8274463.pdf
- Inglés Sencillo, no date. Diminutivo. [online] Available at: https://www.inglessencillo.com/diminutivo
- González. K. 2022. Castellano Actual. Available at https://www.udep.edu.pe/castellanoactual/esa-ce-de-los-diminutivos/
- Voskuilen. L. (2019) Trabajo fin de grado. Bachelor's thesis. Utrecht University. Available at: https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/33098/Trabajo%20fin%20de%20grado.pdf?sequence=2
- Real Academia Española. (no date). Algunas observaciones sobre el diminutivo en Bogotá. Centro Virtual Cervantes. Available at: https://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/thesaurus/pdf/17/TH_17_003_064_0.pdf
- Echenique, M.T. (1989) Sobre la interpretación semántica de los diminutivos en español, Boletín de la Real Academia Española, 69(248), pp. 303–339. Available at: https://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/thesaurus/pdf/17/TH_17_003_064_0.pdf
- Buenafuentes de la Mata, C. and Sánchez Lancis, C. (2012) ‘Procesos de gramaticalización y lexicalización a la luz de los corpus académicos’, ELUA: Estudios de Lingüística. Universidad de Alicante, 31, pp. 117-131. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329604632_Lexicalizacion_diminutiva_en_dos_corpus_originales_lengua_oral_y_lengua_escrita