Spanish Diminutive
A diminutive is a word that has been modified in some way to convey a slight change to its basic meaning, either the smallness of something, or a sense of intimacy, affection, or endearment.
In Spanish, endings known as sufijos diminutivos are added to words to make them diminutive.
How to form the diminutive? Look at these examples:
la chica (girl) → la chiquita (little girl, young girl)
la casa (house) → la casita (small house)
el gato (cat) → el gatito (kitten)
el libro (book) → el librito (booklet)
Pedro (Peter) → Pedrito (Pete)
Juana (Jean) → Juanita (Jeannie)
The most common Spanish diminutive suffix is -ito, -ita, usually just added to the root word.
Sometimes words are made diminutive with the endings -illo, -ico or -ín, and usually these diminutives are used depending on the regional area.
el pájaro (bird) → pajarillo (little bird)
el niño (child) → el niñín (little child)
la fiesta (party) → la fiestica (small party)
