A 'diminutive' is a formation of a
word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment. It is the opposite of an
augmentative. While many languages apply the grammatical diminutive to
nouns, a few also use it for
adjectives.
Diminutives are often used for affection (see
nickname and
hypocoristic). In many languages the meaning of diminution can be translated "tiny" or "wee" and diminutives are used frequently when speaking to small children; adult people sometimes use diminutives when they express extreme tenderness and intimacy by behaving and talking like children. (See
Apocopation).
In some languages diminutives are formed in a regular way by adding
affixes to nouns and proper names; in English the alteration of meaning is often but not essentially conveyed through smaller size. English diminutives tend to be shorter and more
colloquial than the basic form of the word; diminutives formed by adding affixes in other languages are often longer and not necessarily colloquial.
In many languages formation of diminutives by suffixes is a regular part of grammar. All nouns, not just proper nouns can be diminuted. The word "diminutive" is used in a narrower and less vague sense here than when referring to English. The basic meaning of diminution in these languages is "smallness of the object named"; endearment, intimacy etc. is secondary and dependent on context. For example, the name of the last Roman emperor of the western part of the
Roman Empire -
Romulus Augustus - was diminuted to Romulus Augustulus (little Augustus) to emphasise the contrast between the grandness of the name and political insignificance of its bearer, in this case the connotation of diminution is derogatory, not endearing.
Germanic languages
English
Diminutives are common in most dialects of
English. Terms such as "undies" for
underwear and "movie" for "moving picture" are frequently heard terms in English.
Sometimes a diminutive lengthens the original word e.g. "hottie" to denote sexually appealing (or "hot") young man or woman. (Note that analogous expressions in languages in which diminution is a regular part of the grammar would not be called diminutives.)
English has also borrowed liberally from other languages when producing new diminutives, ''e.g.'' ''-ette'' is from French.
Common diminutives are:
★ -ey/-ie/-y: dearie, doggy,
kitty (this also being the basis of the naming of
Brittany i.e. Minor Britain in reference to its cultural ties to the
Celts of
Great Britain.)
★ -ette:
diskette,
cigarette, kitchenette,
suffragette (Suffrage)
★ -let:
piglet,
chicklet,
applet,
eyelet,
gauntlet,
tablet
★ -ling:
duckling,
gosling
★ -s(y):
"Wills",
Becks
★ -a:
Macca,
Gazza
★ -o:
smoko (smoking break)
Australian English
Australians sometimes employ the -o suffix, as in Johnno (for someone named Johnson). Many other words are replaced with diminutives in Australian English. Emergency-services personnel are often referred to as ''ambos'' and ''firies'' instead of "ambulance officers" and "firefighters". Similarly, medical professionals are frequently known as ''medicos''.
The
Salvation Army are known as ''the Salvos'' and
McDonald's, ''Macca's''. Garbage collectors are almost universally known as ''garbos'' and postmen as ''posties''.
Scots
In
Lowland Scots diminutives are used much more frequently than in English. The diminutive is formed by the
suffix ''-ie'', ''-ock'', ''-ockie'' or ''–ag'' (the latter from
Scottish Gaelic, and probably influencing the other two before it). ''-ie'' is by far the most common prefix used.
Examples include:
★ -ie
★
★ burnie: small burn (Eng.: small
stream)
★
★ feardie or feartie (frightened person,
coward)
★
★ gamie (
gamekeeper)
★
★ kiltie (
kilted soldier)
★
★ mannie (man)
★
★
Nessie (
Loch Ness)
★
★ postie (
postman)
★
★ wifie (woman)
★ -ock
★
★ bittock: wee bit (little bit)
★
★ playock (
toy, plaything)
★
★ sourock (
sorrel)
★ -ag
★
★ Cheordag (
Geordie)
★
★ bairnag: wee bairn (small child) (
Northern Scots dialect: ''-ag'' is derived from the
Scottish Gaelic language)
★ Double diminutives
★
★ hooseockie (small house)
★
★ wifockie (little woman)
German
German features words such as "Häuschen" for "small house", "Würstchen" for "small sausage", "ein bisschen" for "a little bit" and "Hündchen" for "small dog".
Diminutives are more frequently used than in English. They are always neutral as for
grammatical gender. Some words only exist in the diminutive form, e.g. "Kaninchen" ("rabbit").
The use of diminutives is quite different between the dialects. The Alemannic dialects for example use the diminutive very often.
There are two
suffixes that can be systematically applied in German:
★ ''-chen'', e.g. "Männchen" for little man (corresponding with English ''-kin'' as seen in "munchkin", Low Saxon (Low German) and Dutch ''-je'', ''-tje'', ''-ke'', ''-ken'' and other forms depending on the dialect area)
★ ''-lein'' e.g. "Männlein" for little man (corresponding with English ''-let'' and ''-ling'', Alemannic/Swabian ''-lé'' (Spaetz''lé''), ''-li''(Hörn''li''),
Bavarian and Austrian ''-l'' and
Latin ''-culus'' / ''-cula'')
Suffixation of the diminutive suffixes –chen and –lein to a finally stressed
word stem causes
umlaut of the stressed vowel.
In
Bavarian and Austrian German, the -l or -erl suffix can replace almost any usual German diminutive. For example, the normal word for "girl" in German is "Mädchen", and while Mädchen is still used frequently in Austrian German, a more colloquial "cute" usage would be "Mädl" or "Madl". It is very common for Austrians to replace the normal "Bisschen" ("a little" as in "Can I have a little more?") with "Bissl". This has become a very distinctive feature of Austrian German.
An familiar example of the ''-erl'' diminutive is "Nannerl", the childhood name of
Maria Anna Mozart, the sister of the celebrated composer.
In
Swabian German this is done by adding a -le suffix. For example, a small house would be a "Häusle" or a little girl a "Mädle".
Low German
In
East Frisian Low Saxon, -je, -tje, and -pje are used as a diminutive suffix (e.g. ''huis'' becomes ''huisje'' (little house); ''boom'' becomes ''boompje'' (little tree)). Some words have a slightly different suffix, even though the diminutive always ends with -je. For example, ''man'' becomes ''mannetje'' (little man).
In other varieties of
West Low German, spoken in the east of the Netherlands, diminutives occasionally use the
umlaut in combination with the suffixes -gie(n). Examples:
★ man - mānnegie (
EN: man - little man)
★ kom - kōmmegie (
EN: bowl - little bowl)
Compare this with the
German suffix -chen
In
Northern Low Saxon, the -''je'' diminutive is rarely used, except maybe
Gronings, such as in ''Buscherumpje'', a fisherman's shirt. It is usually substituted with ''lütte'', meaning "little", as in ''dat lütte Huus''- the small house. The same goes for the
North Germanic languages.
Yiddish
Yiddish also frequently uses diminutives. In Yiddish the primary diminutive is "leh" or "lech." "Mamma" becomes "Mammaleh," "kind" becomes "kindeleh," "kinder" becomes "kinderlach," "Bubbe" (grandmother) becomes "Bubbeleh." The Yiddish manner of diminutives has been incorporated into modern
Israeli Hebrew. "Emma" (mother) is "Emmaleh" and "Abba" (father) is "Abbaleh." Another Yiddish diminutive form is -ke. The name "Yishiyahu" is "Shaike," and the name "Elsa" is "Elke."
Dutch
In Dutch, the diminutive is formed by adding one of the
suffixes''-je, tje, -pje, -etje'', ''-kje, -ke, eke, -ske, -ie'' to the noun in question.
In Dutch, not only
nouns can get a diminutive but also adjectives and adverbs. The noun however will remain able to be used together with (in)definite
articles. In this case ''-s'' is added.
Some examples;
★ adjective:
★
★ groen (green)- "groentje" (lit. ''little green" meaning ''rookie'')
★ adverbs:
★
★ groen (green) - "groentjes" (lit.''little green'' meaning ''greenish")
★
★ net (tidy) - "netjes" (lit ''little tidy'' meaning "tidy-ish")
★
★ zacht (soft) - "zachtjes" (lit.''little soft'' meaning "softly")
Some nouns have two different diminutives, each with a different meaning.
★ bloem (flower) - bloemp'je' (lit. "small/little flower") meaning ''little/small flower'')
★ bloem (flower) - bloeme'tje' (lit. "small/little flower" meaning ''bouquet'')
There are also a number of words that exist solely in a diminutive form.
★ zeepaardje (lit. "small/little seahorse" meaning ''seahorse')
★ sneeuwklokje (lit. "small/little snowdrop" meaning ''snowdrop')
When used to refer to time, the Dutch diminutive form can indicate whether the person in question found it pleasant or not.
★ In de rij heb ik een 'uur' moeten wachten voordat ik aan de beurt was.
''(I had to wait an 'hour' in line before it was my turn.)''
★ Na een 'uurtje' gezellig gekletst te hebben met haar vriend ging het meisje naar huis.
''(After chatting to her boyfriend for a 'little hour' the girl went home.)''
Romance languages
Latin
In the Latin language the diminutive is formed also by suffixes affixed to the
word stem. The grammatical gender remains unchanged.
★ -ulus, -ula, -ulum, e.g. globulus (
globule from globus (
globe).
★ -culus, -cula, -culum, e.g.
homunculus (little man) from homo (man) (''culus'' also means
arse)
★ -olus, -ola, -olum, e.g. malleolus (little hammer) from malleus (hammer)
★ -ellus, -ella, -ellum, e.g. libellus (little book) from liber (book)
Similarly, the diminutive of
gladius (
sword) is
gladiolus, a
plant whose
leaves look like small swords.
Adjectives as well as
nouns can be diminished, including paululus (very small) from paulus (small).
Italian
In
Italian, the diminutive for people is usually expressed by changing masculine (usually -o) to -ino and feminine (usually -a) to -ina, whereas for inanimate objects, the pattern is -o to -etto and -a to -etta. -ello and -ella also exist, though often as the result of the italicization of words from other
Romance languages. The new word is then pluralized as a word in its own right. The animate/inanimate rule is extremely loose. Examples which have made it into English are mostly
culinary, like
linguine (named for its resemblance to little
tongues ("lingue", in
Italian)), and
bruschetta. The diminution is often figurative: an
operetta is similar to an
opera, but dealing with less serious topics. "Signorina" means "
Miss", whereas "signorino" would be a
pejorative belittling of a
man. The
augmentative also exists: -one.
Romanian
Romanian uses suffixes to create diminutives, most of these suffixes being of Latin or Slavic origin.
'Feminine'
★ -ea (jucărie / jucărea = toy)
★ -ică (bucată / bucăţică = piece)
★ -ioară (inimă / inimioară = heart)
★ -işoară (ţară / ţărişoară = country)
★ -iţă (fată / fetiţă = girl)
★ -uşcă (raţă / răţuşcă = duck)
★ -uţă (bunică / bunicuţă = grandmother)
'Masculine'
★ -aş (iepure / iepuraş = rabbit)
★ -el (băiat / băieţel = boy)
★ -ic (tată / tătic = father)
★ -ior (dulap / dulăpior = locker)
★ -işor (pui / puişor = chicken)
★ -uleţ (urs / ursuleţ = bear)
★ -uş (căţel / căţeluş = dog)
★ -uţ (pat / pătuţ = bed)
Spanish
In
Spanish, -o and -a become -ito and -ita, respectively — as in "perro" (
dog) and "perrito" (
puppy). In other instances, the suffix "-illo" or "illa" is used. Some well-known examples of this are the international words
tortilla,
camarilla,
flotilla and
guerrilla, all of them of Spanish origin. Words ending in -e or consonant take -cito/a or -ecito/a, as in big "grande" → "grandecito/a" and cross "cruz" → "crucecita". There are irregular forms, like foot "pie" → "piececito", and sometimes two forms exist with different uses: hand "mano" gives the expected "manita" but also "manecilla" "clock hand". There is at least one common duplicated diminutive: small "chico" → "chiquito" → "chiquitito".
Portuguese
In
Portuguese, the most common diminutives are formed with the suffixes "-(z)inho", "-(z)inha", which replace the masculine and feminine endings "-o" and "-a", respectively. The forms with "z" are normally added to words that end in stressed vowels, such as "café", "cafezinho"; "pouco", "pouquinho" (a very small amount). Diminutives of nouns are widely used in colloquial language. Occasionally, they may also be applied to adverbs ("e.g.", "só"/"sozinho", both meaning alone), adjectives ("e.g.", "tonto"/"tontinho", meaning "silly" and "a bit silly") and even verbs ("'e.g.", "correndo"/"correndinho", both meaning "running", but the latter having a sense of endearment).
French
French diminutives usually end in -ette, such as ''fillette'' (young girl) or ''
courgette'' (small marrow) and this frequently carries over into English as well. While informal French often produces diminutive effects simply by cutting a word in half (''McDo'' from ''McDonalds'', ''fixs'' from ''fixations'' 'ski bindings'), the ending ''-oche'' is sometimes used. For example, ''cinoche'' (''ciné'') and ''MacDoche'' (''McDonalds'').
Slavic languages
Bulgarian
Bulgarian has an extended diminutive system.
Masculine nouns have a double diminutive form. The first suffix that can be added is -che. At this points the noun has become neuter, because of the -e ending. The -ntse suffix can further extend the diminutive (It is still neuter, again due to the -e ending). A few examples:
★ kufar - kufarche - kufarchentse (a suitcase)
★ nozh - nozhche - nozhchentse (a knife)
★ stol - stolche - stolchentse (a chair)
Feminine nouns can have up to three different, independent forms (though some of them are used only in colloquial speech):
★ zhena - zhenica - zhenichka (a woman)
★ riba - ribka - ribchitsa (a fish)
★ saksiya - saksiyka - saksiychitsa (a flowerpot)
★ glava - glаvitsa - glavichka (a head)
Note, that the suffixes can be any of -ka, -chka, -tsa.
Neuter nouns can have only one diminutive suffix -ntse.
★ dete - detentse (a child)
★ prase - prasentse (a pig)
Czech
In
Czech diminutives are formed by suffixes, as in other
Slavic languages. Every noun has a grammatically correct diminutive form, regardless of the sense it makes. This is sometimes used for comic effect, for example diminuting the word "obr" (giant) to "obřík" (little giant). Diminutives can be diminuted further by adding another diminutive suffix. E.g.: "Júlie" (Julia), "Julka" (little Julia), "Júlinka" (very little Julia). Czech diminutives can also express familiarity, meliorative, and affection. Hence, "Julka" may well mean "our", "cute" or "beloved" Julia.
Example: "k-diminutives"
/-ka/ (feminine noun forms)
★ táta (dad) > taťka (little/cute/beloved dad = daddy)
★ Anna (Ann) > Anka (little/cute/beloved Ann = Annie)
★ televize (TV set) > televizka (little/cute/beloved televisor)
★ hora (mountain) > hůrka (little/cute/beloved mountain = a big hill)
★ noha (leg, foot) > nožka (little/cute/beloved foot, leg)
/-ko/ (neuter noun forms)
★ rádio (radio) > rádijko (little/cute/beloved radio)
★ víno (wine) > vínko (little/cute/beloved wine)
★ triko (T-shirt) > tričko (little/cute/beloved T-shirt)
★ pero (feather) > pírko (little/cute/beloved feather)
★ oko (eye) > očko (little/cute/beloved eye = eyelet)
/-ek/ (masculine noun forms)
★ dům (house) > domek (little/cute/beloved house)
★ stůl (table) > stolek (little/cute/beloved table)
★ schod (stair/step) > schůdek (little/cute/beloved stair/step)
★ prostor (space) > prostůrek (little/cute/beloved space)
★ strom (tree) > stromek (little/cute/beloved tree)
/-ík/
★ Tom (Tom) > Tomík (little/cute/beloved Tom = Tommy)
★ pokoj (room) > pokojík (little/cute/beloved room)
★ kůl (stake/pole) > kolík (little/cute/beloved stake/pole)
★ rum (rum) > rumík (little/cute/beloved rum)
★ koš (basket) > košík (little/cute/beloved basket)
Other common diminutive suffixes are /-inka/, /-enka/, /-ečka/, /-ička/, /-ul-/, /-unka/, /-íček/, /-ínek/ etc. Note the various stem deformations, such as palatalization, vowel shortening or vowel lengthening.
Russian
Russian has a wide variety of diminutive forms for names, to the point that for non-Russian speakers it can be difficult to connect a nickname to the original. Diminutive forms for nouns are usually distinguished with an -ik, -ok (-yok) (masculine gender), -chk-/-shk- and -on’k-/-en’k- suffixes. For example, "voda" (''вода;'', "water") becomes "vodichka" (''водичка'', "little water"), "kot" (''кот'', "male cat") becomes "kotik" (''kotik''), "koshka" (''кошка'', "female cat") becomes "koshechka" (''кошечка''), "solntse" (''солнце'', "sun", neuter) becomes "solnyshko" (''солнышко''). Often there are many diminutive forms: "mama" (''мама'', "mom") becomes "mamochka" (''мамочка''), "mamen’ka" (''маменька''), etc.
Adjectives and adverbs can also have diminutive forms with suffix -en’k-: "siniy" (''синий'', "blue") becomes "sinen’kiy" (''синенький''), "bystro" (''быстро'', "quickly") becomes "bystren’ko" (''быстренько'').
Polish
In
Polish there are multiple affixes used to create the diminutive. Some of them are -ka, -cia, -unia, -enka, -lka for feminine nouns and -ek, -ciek, -uń, -eńki, -lki for masculine (among others). For example:
★ Frog (Żaba) = żabcia, żabusia, żabeńka, żabuleńka, żabeczka, żabunia, żabka
★ Small (mały) = maleńki, malusi, malutki, maluśki, malusieńki
★ Gregory (Grzegorz) = Grześ, Grzesiek, Grzesio, Grzesiu
★ Katherine (Katarzyna) = Kasia, Kaśka, Kasienka, Kasiunia
★ Peter (Piotr) = Piotrek, Piotruś, Pietruszka
★ Anna (Anna) = Ania, Anka, Andzia, Anusia
★ Thomas (Tomasz) = Tomek, Tomuś, Tomcio, Tomeczek
The diminutive suffixes may be stacked to create forms going even further, for example, ''malusieńki'' is considered even smaller than ''malusi'' or ''maleńki''. Similarly, ''koteczek'' (little kitty) is derived from ''kotek'' (kitty), which is itself derived from ''kot'' (cat). Note that in this case, the suffix ''-ek'' is used twice, but changes to ''ecz'' once due to palatalisation.
Baltic languages
Lithuanian
Lithuanian is known for its array of diminutive forms. Diminutives are generally constructed with suffixes applied to the noun stem. By far, the most common are those with -elis/-elė or -ėlis/-ėlė. Others include: -ukis/-ukė, -ulis/-ulė, -užis/-užė, -utis/-utė, -ytis/-ytė, etc. Prefixes may also be compounded, e.g.: -užis + -ėlis → -užėlis. In addition to denoting small size and/or endearment, they may also function as amplificatives (augmentatives), pejoratives (deterioratives), and to give special meanings, depending on context
[1]. Lithuanian diminutives are especially prevalent in poetic language, such as folk songs. Examples:
★ ąžuolas (oak) → ąžuolėlis, ąžuoliukas
★ brolis (brother) → brolelis, broliukas, brolytis, brolužis, brolužėlis, brolutytis, broliukėlis, etc.
★ klevas (maple) → klevelis, klevukas, klevutis
★ pakalnė (slope) → pakalnutė (Lily-of-the-valley,
Convallaria)
★ saulė (sun) → saulelė, saulytė, saulutė, saulužė, saulužėlė, etc.
★ svogūnas (onion) → svogūnėlis (bulb)
★ vadovas (leader) → vadovėlis (textbook, manual)
Celtic languages
Irish
The
Irish language has a number of diminutives.
The most common diminutives are:
: -(e)og - A feminine diminutive;
: -an/in - A masculine diminutive.
Scottish Gaelic
In
Scottish Gaelic diminutives are used much more frequently than in English. This is a feature that it shares with
Scots language, and may have influenced, the suffixes "-ag" and "-ock" in that language.
The most common diminutives are:
: -(e)ag - A feminine diminutive;
: -(e)an - A masculine diminutive.
e.g.
★ Mor ("Sarah") → Morag
★
Loch Nis (Loch Ness) → Niseag ("
Nessie")
★ ''
loch'' → ''lochan''.
★ ''
bodach'' (old man) → ''bodachan'' (mannikin)
Finno-Ugric languages
Hungarian
Hungarian uses the suffixes ''-ka/ke'' and ''-cska/cske'' to form diminutive nouns. The suffixes ''-i'' and ''-csi'' may also be used with names. However, you cannot have the diminutive form of your name registered officially. Nouns formed this way are considered separate words (as all words that are formed using ''képző'' type suffixes). They may not even be grammatically related to the base word, only historically, whereas the relation has been long forgotten.
Some examples:
★ Animals (only to list a few)
★
★ ''-ka/ke'': ''csó'ka''' (
jackdaw), ''fó'ka''' (seal), ''ró'ka''' (fox), ''puly'ka''' (turkey), ''szar'ka''' (
magpie)
★
★ ''-cska/cske'': ''fe'cske''' (
swallow), ''ke'cske''' (goat), ''ma'cska''' (cat) – this is actually a loanword from Slavic languages, ''szö'cske''' (grasshopper)
★ Names (as in the following example – these are classic character names from Hungarian fairy tales –, they can have several forms)
★
★ ''-i'': ''János'' (John) → ''Jan'i''', ''Júlia'' → ''Jul'i''', ''Kata'' → ''Kat'i''', ''Mária'' → ''Mar'i''', ''Sára'' → ''Sár'i'''
★
★ ''-csi'': ''János'' → ''Jan'csi'''
★
★ ''-iska/iske'': ''Júlia'' → ''Jul'iska''', ''Mária'' → ''Mar'iska'''
Other language families
Persian
The most frequently used
Persian diminutives are -cheh (چه-) and -ak (ک-).
★ Bãgh باغ (garden), bãghcheh باغچه (small garden)
★ Mard مرد (man), mardak مردک (this fellow)
Other less used ones are -izeh and -zheh.
★ Rang رنگ (colour), rangizeh رنگیزه (
pigment)
★ Nãy نای (pipe), nãyzheh نایژه (small pipe,
bronchus)
Turkish
: ''See also
Turkish grammar.''
Turkish diminutive suffixes are -cik and -cegiz (-cegiz):
★ ''ev'' = ''evcik'' (house)
★ ''Mehmet'' = ''Mehmetçik'' (This is an incorrect diminitive because it is a prestigious generic name for Turkish Soldier. Arabic Muhammad's Turkish version is Mehmet, which denotes Soldiers of Muhammad or Muhammad Like.)
★ Cik suffix usually denotes small quantity, poorness, or youngness
★ Cegiz suffix usually appended to inanimate objects.
Arabic
In
Modern Standard Arabic the usual diminutive pattern is Fu`ayL (CuCayC), with or without the feminine -ah added.
★ kūt كوت"fort" →
kuwayt كويت "little fort"
★ hirra هِرّة "cat" → hurayrah هُرَيرة "kitten"
Interlingua
: ''See also
Free word-building in Interlingua.''
Interlingua has a single diminutive suffix, -ett, for diminutives of all sorts.
★ Johannes (John) → Johannetto (Johnny)
★ camera (chamber, room) → cameretta (little room)
★ pullo (chicken) → pulletto (chick)
Use of this suffix is flexible, and diminutives such as ''mama'' and ''papa'' may also be used. To denote a small person or object, many Interlingua speakers simply use the word ''parve'', or small:
★ parve can → small dog
★ parve arbore → small tree
Esperanto
: ''See also
Esperanto word formation.''
For generic use (for living beings and inanimate objects),
Esperanto has a single diminutive suffix, -et.
★ domo (house) → dometo (cottage)
★ varma (warm) → varmeta (lukewarm)
★ knabo (boy) → knabeto (little boy)
For personal names and familial forms of address, the affixes -nj- and -ĉj- are used, for females and males respectively. Unusually for Esperanto, the "root" is often shortened, in an unpredictable manner, before being added to.
★ Patrino (Mother) → Panjo (Mum, Mom)
★ Mario (Mary, Maria) → Manjo, Marinjo
★ Sofio (Sophie, Sophia) → Sonjo, Sofinjo
★ Patro (Father) → Paĉjo (Dad, Daddy)
★ Johano (John, Johann) → Johanĉjo, Joĉjo (Jack, Johnny)
★ Vilhelmo (William, Wilhelm) → Vilhelĉjo, Vilheĉjo, Vilĉjo, Viĉjo (Willy, Bill, Billy)
Whereas languages such as Spanish may use the diminutive to denote offspring, as in "perrito" (puppy), Esperanto has a dedicated and regular suffix, "-id" used for this purpose. Thus "hundeto" is not "puppy", but rather "little dog", but "hundido" means "puppy" (dog-offspring).
Greek
Several diminutive derivational suffixes existed in Classical Greek. The most common ones were: -ιο, -ισκο, -ιδιο, -αριο.
Diminutives are also very common in
Modern Greek. Literally every noun has its corresponding diminutive. They express small size (σπίτι-spiti 'house', σπιτάκι-spitaki 'little house'; λάθος-lathos 'mistake', λαθάκι-lathaki 'negligeable mistake') or affection (μάνα-mana 'mother', μανούλα-manoula 'mommy'). The most common suffixes are -άκης (-akis) and -ούλης (-oulis) for the male gender, -ίτσα (-itsa) and -ούλα (-oula) for the female gender, and -άκι (-aki) for the neutral gender. Several of them are common as suffixes of
surnames, originally meaning the offspring of a certain person, e.g. Παπάς 'priest' Παπαδάκης Papadakis (surname).
See also
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Hypocoristic
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Augmentative
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