22.6 Little Add-on Words - Colloquial Suffixes
Language & Culture Lessons
Since you're well advanced in your Spanish studies, you are ready to learn to speak more like a native. In this lesson, I'm going to do a
review of two subjects we've touched upon in our previous lessons: Los Diminutivos y los Aumentativos - which are commonly used
by Spanish speakers in informal conversations.
Language
Los Diminutivos y los Aumentativos
Spanish Diminutives
In the Interactive Course lesson 7.1 on "Family Reunion" - we hear Alejandra, the grandmother, and Mauricio, the grandson, begin with
the following exchange:
Mauricio: ¡Hola, abuelita! ¿Cómo está?
Alejandra: Muy bien mijito, ahora que te veo.
Aw, that's sweet! Alejandra is very well now that she sees Mauricio!
Take a look at how they address each other. Mauricio calls Alejandra 'abuelita' and Alejandra calls Mauricio 'mijito.'
Both have something in common. Do you see it? YES! The endings '-ita' and its masculine equivalent '-ito'. These suffixes are essential
when you want to show affection!
Addressing someone who's charming or endearing
The expression 'abuelita' which literally translates as "little-grandmother" originates from the word 'abuela' meaning "grandmother." Just
like in English, one calls their grandmother "granny" or "grandma," in Spanish, they attach the suffix -ita after dropping the last '-a' from
abuela. Thus 'Abuelita' is a more affectionate form of 'abuela.'
'Mijito' comes from combining the words 'Mi hijito,' (hijito = hijo + diminutive suffix -ito) or "my darling son." Elderly people often use
this term to address younger people with affection, whether they're their children or not! So think of it as meaning "honey" or "darling."
Adding '-ita' or '-ito' to the end of a word usually denotes endearment.
In Spanish speaking countries, you'll often hear a mother call her son 'hijito' or her daughter 'hijita.' Adding the letters '-ito' or '-ita' to
the end of the word is the way you create a diminutive, and it means that someone or something is small or little. It's also a way to show
affection, equivalent to the English word "dear."
Here are some other examples:
Mi hermanita
My little sister
Mi hermanito
My little brother
hermano / hermanito
brother / little brother
hermana / hermanita
sister / little sister
abuelo / abuelito
grandfather / grandpa
abuela / abuelita
grandmother / grandma or granny
niña / niñita
girl / little girl
Speaking affectionately about Mascotas (pets)
The endings '-ito' and '-ita' can be used to refer to a baby animal.
perro / perrito
dog / little puppy
gato / gatito
cat / little kitten
Addressing someone's name with affection: Nombres de personas
You can also use '-ito/-ita' or '-cito/-cita' at the end of a person's name.
Juan / Juanito
John / little John or Johnny
Ana / Anita
Ann or Anne / little Ann or Annie
Small Things With Affection
Many smaller-than-normal size things, such as a child-size chair add the suffix '-ito/-ita' (depending on gender of noun). So, silla "chair"
becomes sillita "small-chair". Or, suppose you want to say that you have a little house, like a cottage-size. You can just use the prefix 'ita' with casa and say: Yo tengo una casita.
Here are some more examples:
libro / librito
book / booklet
papel / papelito
paper / slip of paper
dibujo / dibujito
drawing / small drawing
Making it Casual (not smaller)
Sometimes, adding the diminutive suffix '-ito/-ita' or '-cito/-cita' do not change the meaning of a word. It simply renders it more colloquial.
So, for example, you could say: Toditos vamos a salir "Everyone's going to go out." Here, 'Toditos' means "Everyone" said in a friendly
and colloquial manner. The word 'toditos' doesn't suggest "small-everyone" or "dear-everyone" - that is, the diminutive suffix '-itos'
doesn't shrink the size of "everyone"!
Some Guidelines...
The suffix '-ito' is used as a masculine noun ending, while '-ita' is the feminine suffix. Both '-ito' and '-ita' follow nouns (with more that
one syllable) ending in -o, -a, or a consonant (except for -n and -r). A different suffix '-cito' or its feminine equivalent '-cita' is usually
used for nouns (with more that one syllable) that end in vowels -e/-é, -i/-í, -u/-ú, -á, -ó, and the consonants -n, or -r.
1. -ito/-ita & -illo/-illa
Generally, words ending in -a, -o, (WITHOUT accent) or a consonant (EXCEPT for 'n' and 'r') drop the final vowel and add the suffix ito/-ita or -illo/-illa (or plural equivalents).
root
formation
diminutive
meaning
perro
drop 'o' + -ito
perrito
little dog
casa
drop 'a' + -ita
casita
little house
2. -cito/-cita & -cillo/-cilla
Words with more that one syllable that end in -e, -n, -r, or a stressed vowel : add suffix -cito/-cita or -cillo/-cilla (or plural equivalents).
When attaching these suffixes, make sure to take the accent marks off the stressed vowels.
root
formation
diminutive
meaning
café
+ cito
cafecito
little coffee
joven
+ cito
jovencito
little, cute boy
3. -ecito/-ecita & -ecillo/-ecilla
For words with one syllable that end in a consonant you simply need to tack on the endings -ecito/-ecita or -ecillo/-ecilla (or plural
equivalents).
root
formation
+ -ecillo
pan
diminutive
panecillo
meaning
small bread
4. -ececito/-ececita
For words with one syllable that end in a vowel you need to drop the last vowel and tack on the endings -ececito/-ececita (or plural
equivalents).
Piececitos
Little feet
root
formation
+ -ececito
pie
diminutive
piececito
meaning
little feet
Spanish Augmentatives
Now that we've reviewed how to express smallness and affection - let's move on to review about how to express bigness or contempt.
The most common augmentative suffixes are '-ón' and '-azo,' along with its feminine equivalents '-ona' and '-aza.'
-ón/-ona (increase/excess)
When attached to words referring to people, this suffix generally implies an increase or excess of some quality. For example,
both mujerona and hombrón suggest a woman and a man with an excess quality – "a hefty great woman," "a big strong man."
When tacked on to words to non-personal words, such as 'gota' meaning "drop" → gotón "a big drop" - equally implies
excess, often suggesting that such excess is desirable.
-azo/-aza (intensity)
The little ending -azo, or it's female equivalent, -aza may express intensity regarding that particular word. Take, exitazo
which originates from 'éxito' meaning "success." With the suffix attached, exitazo suggests a greater intensity of success.
Some Guidelines...
There are only two simple guidelines on how to attach Augmentative-suffixes to common words.
1. For words that end in a CONSONANT - just add the whole suffix to it!
root
formation
augmentative
meaning
animal
+ -ón
animalón
large beast
mujer
+ -ona
mujerona
tough woman
árbol
+ -ote
arbolote
big tree
2. For words that end in a VOWEL - simply drop that last vowel and add the suffix.
root
formation
augmentative
meaning
cabeza
drop 'a' + -ón
cabezón
big headed; stubburn
grande
drop 'e' + -ote
grandote
really big
perro
drop 'o' + -azo
perrazo
big, mean dog
Culture
Spanglish - Mixing languages
Depending on the area, you can call it Spanglish, Tejano English or Tex-Mex, - but this mixed language which merges English and
Spanish not only exists but is widely used in bordering cities of the USA and Mexico, the city of New York, Florida and Chicago.
It can be through code switching, which is changing the language in the middle of a sentence, but also through the creation of new words,
making it only understandable among bilingual speakers.
Puerto Ricans have even used this mixed-language in mass media. Such as the Regueatton singer Daddy Yankee, and the writer
Giannina Braschi , whose novel “Yo-Yo boing!” is entirely in Spanglish.
But to make things even trickier for non-bilingual people, there isn't just one kind of Spanglish around.
In many areas of Mexico or the Caribbean, this form of speaking is more influenced by English speaking media such as music or movies,
rather than direct contact with a native speaker. For them, it is common to replace "love" for 'amor' and saying "house" instead of 'casa.'.
Such replacement of English words for Spanish words are only seen with common, frequently used words. That is, words like "plumber"
or "breakthrough" are not part of this English replacement vocabulary list.
Check your Spanglish skills with the next sentences!
Tengo ganas de ir to the movies, pero tengo que babysit a mi baby sister.
"I want to go to the movies, but I have to babysit my baby sister."
Tu jacket es extremely fashionable, ¿dónde la compraste?
"Your jacket is extremely fashionable, where did you buy it?"
Mi tarjeta de security no funcionó in the building.
"My security card didn't work in the building."
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