Italian Diminutives

Diminutives – Making Things Sound Smaller or Cuter

In Italian, diminutive suffixes are commonly added to nouns to express that something is small in size, endearing, or sometimes used to convey affection or tenderness. These suffixes modify the original noun, often giving it a softer or cuter tone, which can be useful in everyday conversation to add nuance or emotional warmth.

For example: C’è una casetta in mezzo al bosco. This means, There’s a small house in the middle of the forest, where casetta is the diminutive form of casa, implying a smaller or cozier house.

Another example is: C’è un gattino sul tetto. This means, There’s a kitten on the roof. Here, gattino is the diminutive of gatto, which indicates a young or small cat.

Common Diminutive Suffixes

Italian diminutive suffixes vary according to the gender of the noun they modify. Each suffix has both masculine and feminine forms, which correspond to the gender of the original word. Knowing these suffixes helps you accurately form diminutives for a wide variety of nouns.

• –ino / –ina

  – small or endearing

  Gatto becomes Gattino

  cat becomes little cat

  Sorella becomes Sorellina

  sister becomes little sister

  Fratello becomes Fratellino

  brother becomes little brother

  Cane becomes Cagnolino

  dog becomes little dog

  Uomo becomes Omino

  man becomes little man (affectionate or humorous)

• –etto / –etta

  smallness with affection

  Casa becomes Casetta

  house becomes little house

  Camera becomes Cameretta

  room becomes little bedroom

• –ello / –ella

  Paese becomes Paesello

  village becomes small village

  Albero becomes Alberello

  tree becomes little tree

• –uccio / –uccia

  Cavallo becomes Cavalluccio

  horse becomes little horse

  Cavalluccio marino

  seahorse (literally little sea-horse)

• –olo / –ola

  Montagna becomes Montagnola

  mountain becomes little mountain or hill

• –attolo

  less common and often playful

  Mostro becomes Mostriciattolo

  monster becomes little or funny-looking monster

Augmentatives – Making Things Sound Bigger or per

• –one / –ona

  indicates something large or significant

  Problema becomes Problemone

  problem becomes big problem

  Questo è un problemone.

  This is a big problem.

  Uomo becomes Omone

  man becomes big man

  Massimo è un omone.

  Massimo is a big man.

Pejoratives – Giving a Negative Meaning

• –accio / –accia

  – adds a negative or unpleasant connotation

  Gatto Gattaccio

  cat becomes nasty cat

  Quel gattaccio mi ha morso.

  That nasty cat bit me.

  Figura becomes Figuraccia

  figure/performance becomes bad impression

  Ieri ho detto qualcosa di stupido e ho fatto una figuraccia.

  Yesterday I said something stupid and made a fool of myself.

Common Italian Prefixes

• Ri–

  means again, like the English re–

  Devo rifare il lavoro.

  I have to redo the work.

  Ho rivisto questa serie.

  I watched this series again.

  Ho rilavato il vestito perché era ancora sporco.

  I washed the dress again because it was still dirty.

• Stra–

  informal intensifier, meaning very or super

  Questo libro è strabello.

  This book is really good.

  Sono strafelice di averti incontrato.

  I’m extremely happy to have met you.

  Sono straoccupata in questo momento.

  I’m really busy right now.

Other Similar Prefixes

• arci–

  Sono arcistufa del mio lavoro.

  I’m so fed up with my job.

• super–

  Questo film è superdivertente.

  This movie is really fun.

• ultra–, iper–

  used more in technical or formal contexts