Have you ever heard someone talk about their perrito, abuelita, or amorcito in Spanish? Those ‑ito and ‑ita endings are called the “diminutive”—but what exactly does it mean, and how do you use it?
Plenty of languages use diminutives, but they’re an especially important part of Spanish, so let’s discuss when to use them, how to form them, and a few other key tips!
In this post:
- Why does Spanish use diminutives?
- Examples of diminutive meanings
- How to form diminutives in Spanish
Why does Spanish use diminutives?
The most basic meaning of the diminutive is “small” (it’s related to the word diminish), but it can also be used to say plenty of other things, including that something is cute, inconsequential, or important to you—that’s right, the same ‑ito or ‑ita ending can be used for things that aren’t important *and* things that are!
Let’s break down the different uses with some examples.
Examples of diminutive meanings
Perrito
Perrito (from perro, “dog”) can either mean a dog that’s literally small, such as a puppy, or a dog you love or think is cute.
Abuelita or abuelito
Abuelita (from abuela, “grandmother”) is used to show affection to your grandmother, kind of like “Gran” or “Granny” in English. Abuelo (grandfather) becomes abuelito for the same reason!
Amorcito
Amorcito (from amor, “love”) is usually a sweet pet name to refer to someone you love—whether a romantic partner, a child, or a close friend. But, depending on how it’s used, it can also refer to a relationship that isn’t very significant, like a fling.
Cafecito
Cafecito (from café, “coffee”) might literally mean a small amount of coffee or, in invitations like ¡Tómate un cafecito conmigo! (Have a [little] coffee with me!), it can be used to soften an invitation or express that it won’t take a long time.
Ratito and ahorita
Ratito (from rato, “a while”) is often used to mean “a little while,” but just like in English, depending on the tone of your voice and other contextual clues, it can either mean a short while or a period of time longer than you expected or wanted. The same is true for ahorita (from ahora, “now”), which can mean right now in some contexts or cultures, or not right away in others!
Trabajito, librito, and others
These, and many other nouns, can use the diminutive to mean something that’s literally small or simple, or in a negative way to express that it’s not meaningful. For example, trabajito (from trabajo, “job/work”) can describe an easy job or one that’s not time-consuming, but it can also describe an unimportant or needless job. Librito (from libro, “book”), can refer to a small book, or a book you don’t like or don’t take seriously.
Adverbs and adjectives
The Spanish diminutive can sometimes be used with adverbs and adjectives, too! We’ve already talked about the adverb ahora and its diminutive form, ahorita. Another example is cerquita (from cerca, “nearby”), as in Elisa vive cerquita (Elisa lives nearby), which likely means that Elisa lives very close to you. Adjectives like bajo (short) can become bajito in sentences like Mi novio es bajito (My boyfriend is short) to soften the description or make it clear that you don’t mean it in a negative way.
A wor(l)d of possibilities
From the examples above, you’ve probably noticed that a Spanish word with a diminutive ending isn’t always easy to translate! That’s because English doesn’t have a diminutive that we use as often or in quite the same way as many Spanish speakers use ‑ito and ‑ita, and because the Spanish diminutive has evolved to encompass lots of different meanings, some of which are highly dependent on the context.
How to form diminutives in Spanish
Now that you know how it’s used, let’s see how it’s made—and check out the end of this post for a table of all the examples.
The basic rule
The most common way to form the diminutive is just to add ‑it‑ to the end of a word, plus ‑o if it’s masculine, ‑a if it’s feminine, and ‑s if it’s plural:
- zapato (shoe) ➡️ zapatito (little shoe)
- casa (house) ➡️ casita (little house)
- zapatos (shoes) ➡️ zapatitos (little shoes)
- casas (houses) ➡️ casitas (little houses)
But what’s Spanish without a few exceptions? Let’s go through them one by one.
Words ending in ‑ca or ‑co
In words that end in ‑ca or ‑co, the “c” turns into “qu,” so we get:
- chica (girl) ➡️ chiquita (little girl)
- chico (boy) ➡️ chiquito (little boy)
Words ending in ‑ga or ‑go
In words that end in ‑ga or ‑go, add a “u” after the “g”:
- amiga (female friend) ➡️ amiguita (little friend, dear friend)
- amigo (male friend) ➡️ amiguito (little friend, dear friend)
Words ending in ‑za or ‑zo
In words that end in ‑za or ‑zo, the “z” becomes “c”:
- cerveza (beer) ➡️ cervecita (little beer)
- trozo (piece, such as a piece of cheese) ➡️ trocito (little piece)
Words ending in ‑e, ‑n, or ‑r
Words that end in these letters often add “c” between the original word and the diminutive. Notice that the original words don’t end in ‑a or ‑o, but the diminutive form of each word does, depending on the noun’s gender!
- llave (key) ➡️ llavecita (little key)
- café (coffee) ➡️ cafecito (little coffee)
- canción (song) ➡️ cancioncita (little song)
- camión (truck) ➡️ camioncito (little truck)
- mujer (woman) ➡️ mujercita (little woman)
- amor (love) ➡️ amorcito (little love)
One-syllable words
Most words that are only one syllable also add “c” before the diminutive suffix. In some dialects, they may add “ec” instead of “c.”
- flor (flower) ➡️ florcita or florecita (little flower)
- sol (sun) ➡️ solcito or solecito (little sun)
What about mano?
Mano (hand) is a special case! It’s a feminine noun (for example, you’d say la mano izquierda, which means “the left hand”), but it ends in ‑o, so should the diminutive be ‑ita to match the gender or ‑ito to match the ending of the word? The jury’s still out—both la manita and la manito are common, depending on the speaker and the dialect!
A little more about diminutives in Spanish
There are just a few extra rules and exceptions to know:
Accent marks
When a word has an accent mark, like jardín or pájaro, their diminutive form loses the accent. The stress always falls on the second-to-last syllable: jardincito and pajarito.
Gender
The ‑a or ‑o ending depends on the gender of the noun, even if the noun refers to a person that’s a different gender than the word. For example, amorcito, cielito (from ciel, “heaven”), and corazoncito (from corazón, “heart”) are all common pet names that come from masculine nouns, but even with the ‑o ending, they’re perfectly natural to use with your wife, daughter, or any other loved one who isn’t male.
Dialectal differences
You may also hear other endings in addition to ‑ito and ‑ita in some dialects. For example, a masculine noun like gato (cat) could turn into gatico, gatillo, or gatín (in addition to gatito), and a feminine noun like puerta (door) could become puertica, puertilla, or puertina (in addition to puertita). Beware, though—some of these endings can be interpreted as demeaning or disrespectful!
If something’s really teeny-tiny
You’ll sometimes hear more than one diminutive tacked onto the same word to let you know that something is *really* small! Some of the most common examples are un poquitito (from un poco, “a little bit”), and—one that ABBA fans already know 🕺—chiquitita (from chica, “girl”). So un poquitito is less than un poquito, and someone you call chiquitita is extra small, cute, or beloved compared to chiquita.
Say more… with less!
Now that you know how to expand your Spanish vocabulary with diminutives, check out our other helpful guides for more consejitos (little tips) for Spanish learners:
- 4 Spanish phrases that make it easier to communicate
- Spanish “se”: top 5 meanings and how to use it
- 24 phrases for your next Spanish conversation
- The top 5 mistakes that Spanish learners make
Nuova Mercedes CLA alla prova del GRA: questa è la sua vera autonomia