The diminutives ‑ito and ‑illo and the augmentatives ‑ón, ‑ote and ‑azo give a word size, affection or contempt: casita, grandón. The diminutive replaces the final vowel with ‑ito, and after ‑e, ‑n or ‑r it adds ‑cito: casa → casita, joven → jovencito
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at B2: choose B2 or a higher level.
CheatsheetB2–C1
| Point | Rule | Example | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diminutive | replaces the final vowel with ‑ito or ‑illo | casa → casita / pájaro → pajarillo | little house / little bird | B2 |
| ‑cito, ‑ecito | ‑cito after ‑e, ‑n, ‑r; ‑ecito after a monosyllable | joven → jovencito / pan → panecito | young lad / bread roll | B2 |
| Spelling | c → qu / g → gu / z → c | poco → poquito / amigo → amiguito / lápiz → lapicito | a tiny bit / little friend / little pencil | B2 |
| Augmentative | ‑ón, ‑ote and ‑azo replace the final vowel | grande → grandote / golpe → golpazo | hefty / heavy blow | B2 |
| Agreement | an adjective with a suffix agrees with its noun; adjectives in ‑a do not change | una chica grandona / una mujer hipócrita | a big girl / a hypocritical woman | B2 |
| Meanings | size, affection, softening and contempt | Espera un momentito. / Mi abuelito cocina muy bien. | Wait just a moment. / My granddad cooks very well. | B2 |
| Intensifying | the diminutive strengthens the adjective and the adverb | No te imaginas lo contentita que se puso. | You can’t imagine how happy she became. | C1 |
| Adverbs and gerunds | ‑ito also applies to adverbs, gerunds and proper names | ahora → ahorita / callando → callandito | right now / quietly | C1 |
| Contemptuous forms | ‑ucho, ‑ajo and ‑ote give a contemptuous sense | una casucha / un latinajo | a shack / a scrap of Latin | C1 |
| Trap | sillón is masculine although it comes from silla | Me siento en el sillón de la sala. | I sit down in the armchair in the living room. | B2 |
| Trap | c becomes qu in adverbs too | Vivo cerquita de aquí. | I live very close to here. | C1 |
OverviewB2
- An evaluative suffix is added to the stem and gives the word size, affection or contempt: un perrito / un perrazoa little dog / a big dog
- A word with a suffix forms its plural like any other: see Plurals.
- The suffix ‑ísimo, which forms the superlative, is explained in Comparatives and Superlatives.
Form: diminutives and augmentativesB2–C1
| Suffix | Formation | Examples | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‑ito / ‑ita | replace the final vowel; after another consonant they are added to the word | casa → casita / libro → librito / papel → papelito | little house / little book / slip of paper | B2 |
| ‑illo / ‑illa | formed like ‑ito and ‑ita | pájaro → pajarillo / mesa → mesilla | little bird / small table | B2 |
| ‑cito / ‑cita | after ‑e, ‑n or ‑r they are added to the whole word | joven → jovencito / mujer → mujercita / coche → cochecito / madre → madrecita | young lad / little woman / little car / dear mother | B2 |
| ‑cillo / ‑cilla | follow the same rule as ‑cito | pobre → pobrecillo / joven → jovencillo | poor little thing / young whippersnapper | B2 |
| ‑ecito / ‑ecita | after a monosyllable they are added to the whole word | pan → panecito / flor → florecita | bread roll / little flower | B2 |
| ‑ón / ‑ona | make bigger; replace the final vowel | grande → grandón / casa → casona | big / large house | B2 |
| ‑ote / ‑ota | make bigger; replace the final vowel | grande → grandote / libro → librote | hefty / big book | B2 |
| ‑azo / ‑aza | make bigger; replace the final vowel | golpe → golpazo / mano → manaza | heavy blow / big hand | B2 |
| ‑ito en adverbios | replace the final vowel of the adverb | ahora → ahorita / cerca → cerquita | right now / very close | C1 |
| ‑ito en gerundios | replaces the final ‑o of the gerund | callando → callandito / corriendo → corriendito | quietly / running along | C1 |
| ‑ito en nombres propios | form an affectionate nickname | Ana → Anita / Manolo → Manolito | little Ana / little Manolo | C1 |
Spelling: c, g and z before ‑itoB2
| Change | Examples | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| c → qu | poco → poquito / chico → chiquillo | a tiny bit / little kid | B2 |
| g → gu | amigo → amiguito / largo → larguito | little friend / longish | B2 |
| z → c | lápiz → lapicito / taza → tacita | little pencil / little cup | B2 |
- The final consonant of the stem changes before e or i to keep its sound.
Gender and agreementB2
| Adjective | Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‑ón / ‑ona | un chico grandón | una chica grandona | B2 |
| ‑ajo / ‑aja | un chico pequeñajo | una chica pequeñaja | B2 |
| adjective in ‑a | un hombre hipócrita / un acto homicida | una mujer hipócrita / una acción homicida | B2 |
- The suffix keeps the gender of the base noun: la casa → la casita / el libro → el libritothe little house / the little book
- With ‑ón, some feminine nouns become masculine: la silla → el sillón / la caja → el cajónthe armchair / the drawer
- The gender of nouns: see Gender; the agreement of the adjective: see Adjectives: Agreement and Position.
MeaningsB2–C1
| Meaning | Example | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| small size | Compraron una casita en la playa. | They bought a little house on the beach. | B2 |
| affection | Mi abuelito cocina muy bien. | My granddad cooks very well. | B2 |
| softening a request or bad news | ¿Puedes esperar un momentito? / Hay un problemita con el pedido. | Can you wait a moment? / There is a small problem with the order. | B2 |
| contempt or mockery | Ese pequeñajo se cree el jefe. | That little runt thinks he is the boss. | B2 |
| a word that no longer means “small” | cama → camilla / ventana → ventanilla / bolsa → bolsillo | stretcher / counter window / pocket | B2 |
| intensifying an adjective, an adverb or a quantity | No te imaginas lo contentita que se puso. / Prefiero el té bien calentito. / Ese reloj vale un dinerillo. | You can’t imagine how happy she became. / I prefer my tea nice and warm. / That watch is worth a fair bit of money. | C1 |
| a blow with the object named, or an outstanding example, with ‑azo | El pelotazo del delantero rompió el cristal. / ¡Qué golazo metió! | The striker’s hard kick of the ball broke the window. / What a great goal he scored! | C1 |
| irony: the form says the opposite of what it seems | ¡Vaya nochecita pasamos! / ¡Qué cochecito se compró! | What a fine night we had! / What a fine little car he bought himself! | C1 |
| contemptuous suffixes: ‑ucho, ‑ajo and ‑ote | Viven en una casucha. / Soltó un latinajo que nadie entendió. / Dijo una palabrota. | They live in a shack. / He came out with a scrap of Latin that nobody understood. / He said a swear word. | C1 |
Varieties of SpanishB2
- Latin America: In Mexico, Central America and Colombia, ‑ito is very common in conversation: ¿Quieres un cafecito?Fancy a coffee?
- Latin America: In the Caribbean, Costa Rica and Colombia ‑ico also appears, above all in words with t: Espera un momentico. / Es un niño chiquitico.Wait a moment. / He is a tiny little boy.
- Spain: In Spain, ‑ito is the general suffix; ‑illo is heard in Andalusia and ‑ín in Asturias: Siéntate un ratillo. / Qué niño tan pequeñín.Sit down for a little while. / What a tiny little boy.
Typical errorsB2–C1
| Wrong | Right | Rule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| mi amigito | mi amiguito | g → gu before the i of the suffix | B2 |
| un chicito | un chiquito | c → qu before the i of the suffix | B2 |
| un lapizito | un lapicito | z → c before the i of the suffix | B2 |
| un jovenito | un jovencito | after ‑n, ‑cito is added | B2 |
| un golpaso | un golpazo | ‑azo is written with z | B2 |
| la sillón | el sillón | with ‑ón, silla becomes masculine | B2 |
| una mujer grandón | una mujer grandona | an adjective with a suffix agrees in gender | B2 |
| Vivo cercita de aquí. | Vivo cerquita de aquí. | c → qu before the i of the suffix, in adverbs too | C1 |