Español — Diminutives & augmentatives
Suffixes add smallness or affection (diminutives) or size and intensity (augmentatives): casa → casita, hombre → hombrón. The nuance is often emotional, not just about size.
How it works
The most common diminutive is -ito/-ita, added to the stem: gato → gatito, casa → casita. Use -cito/-cita after words ending in -e, -n or -r and after monosyllables: café → cafecito, pan → pancito, amor → amorcito. Augmentatives -ón, -azo and -ote add size or force: hombre → hombrón, coche → cochazo, grande → grandote.
Main suffixes
| Suffix | Example | Nuance |
|---|---|---|
| -ito / -ita | perro → perrito | smallness, affection (neutral, most common) |
| -cito / -cita | pan → pancito | same value after -e, -n, -r and monosyllables |
| -illo / -illa | chico → chiquillo | small; sometimes playful or slightly dismissive |
| -ico / -ica | momento → momentico | small (regional: Caribbean, Aragón, parts of the Andes) |
| -ón / -ona | hombre → hombrón | large, big; may be admiring or coarse |
| -azo / -aza | coche → cochazo | big and impressive; also a blow (portazo = door slam) |
| -ote / -ota | grande → grandote | big, often clumsy or crude |
Good to know
Watch the spelling: c → qu, g → gu and z → c before the ending, so poco → poquito, amigo → amiguito, lápiz → lapicito. The nuance is not always literal size: ahora → ahorita means "right now", and sillón (from silla) is simply an armchair, not a "big chair".