What’s up, everybody! All good?
In our Dica today, we are going to talk about the formation of the Portuguese Diminutive. To begin with, it’s not possible to use diminutive in every word. We know it sounds cute but try to use it only when it’s appropriate. Try these:
Nouns:
Eu tenho uma casinha.
I have a small house
Adjectives:
Você é tão bonitinho!
You are so handsome!
Adverbs:
Come rapidinho porque já estamos saindo!
Eat fast because we are leaving!
| Casa – casinha | House – little house |
| Escola – escolinha | School – little school |
| Garoto – garotinho | Boy – little boy |
| Filme – filminho | Filme – little film |
So, as you can see, we simply used both -inho and –inha in order to form the Portuguese Diminutive.
We can also use the ending –zinho or –zinha to form a diminutive.
| Café – Cafezinho | Coffee – Little coffee |
| Mulher – Mulherzinha | Woman – Little woman |
| Papel – Papelzinho | Paper – Little paper |
| Amor – Amorzinho | Love – Little love |
This is used in some situations with words that end in a stressed syllable or a syllable with a heavier, stronger pronunciation. Notice that the last syllable is the strongest for all of those examples: café, mulher, papel, amor. Because the last syllables are stronger (i.e. “stressed”), we have to add –zinho or –zinha to form the diminutive.
| Pai – Paizinho | Father – Little father (Dad) |
| Boa – Boazinha | Good – Little good |
| Mau – Mauzinho | Bad – Little bad |
You can see that all of these words end with two vowels: ai, oa, au. Therefore, we use the same ending as above (-zinho and –zinha).
With words that end with a nasal sound we also use –zinho and -zinha. Whenever you say any of these words, you can feel the vibration of the nasal sound if you put your finger on your nose.
| Bom – Bonzinho | Good – Little good |
| Mãe – Mãezinha | Mother – Little mother (Mom) |
| Irmão – Irmãozinho | Brother- Little brother |
| Irmã – Irmãzinha | Sister – Little sister |
Now try pronouncing these words while touching your nose to feel a vibration.
And finally, words ending in –dade will always take the suffix –zinha instead of –zinho, because they’re feminine words.
| Cidade – Cidadezinha | City – Small city |
| Propriedade – Propriedadezinha | Property – Small property |
| Universidade – Universidadezinha | University – Small university |
| Oportunidade – Oportunidadezinha | Opportunity – Small opportunity |
We use the diminutives to express different meanings. Now we’ll see which meanings the diminutives in Portuguese can express. Let’s take a look:
Comprei uma casinha
I bought a small house
Ela tem uma bolsinha muito bonita
She has a pretty little bag
Eles têm um irmãozinho
They have a little brother
So this is how we use it to express small things or objects.
We can use diminutives to express caring or affection. When we want to show my affection for something or someone. Check it out:
Meu amiguinho!
My dear friend!
Minha filhinha!
My dear daughter!
Meu irmãozinho!
My dear brother!
Meu irmãozinho! Eu gosto muito dele!
My dear brother! I like him very much!
Ele é nosso filhinho
He is our beloved son.
O CELPE-Bras é uma provinha interessante.
CELPE-Bras is an interesting little test.
We can also use it to express discontent or dislike. It really depends on the intonation used. It’s used to express that you don’t like something or someone.
Que livrinho desagradável!
What a dreadful book!
Que mulherzinha arrogante!
What an arrogant woman!
Que musiquinha ruim!
What a horrible song!
Que menininha chata!
What a boring girl!
It is also possible to use the diminutive when we want to emphasize or specify something.
Rio & Learn fica pertinho da praia.
Rio & Learn is very close to the beach.
Fale baixinho, tá?
Keep it pretty quiet, ok?
Tomo café com pouquinho açúcar.
I drink coffee with just a little bit of sugar.
É facinho conseguir o visto de estudante para o Brasil.
It’s very easy to to get a student visa for Brazil.
And finally, we can also use it without any specific function.
Espere só um minutinho.
Wait just a little bit.
Você quer um cafezinho?
Do you want some coffee?
Vou embora. Tchauzinho!
I am leaving. Bye bye!
With this purpose in mind, follow the guidelines that we’ve just studied. Practice changing the words in the sentences below into their diminutive forms and tell us their meanings.
That’s it, everyone!
We’ll finish our Dica here! We, from Rio&Learn, really hope to see you soon here in Rio de Janeiro.
Tchauzinho! Don’t forget to practice talking about different situations using diminutives 🙂
Until next time!
Beijinhos and abracinhos for you all!
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Diminutive Exercises in Portuguese
Portuguese Augmentative
Adjectives in Portuguese
Nouns in Portuguese
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