B1 · Nouns and articles
Diminutives and augmentatives
-ito rarely means «small» and almost always says something about tone.
At a glance
- Remember
- The diminutive says more about tone than about size.
- Form
- casa → casitasmall
- Signal words
- -ito
- -ita
- -cito
- -ón
- -azo
- Trap
- Wrong:Espera un pequeño momento, por favor.Right:Espera un momentito, por favor.
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Spanish: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| small | casa → casita |
| after n, r, e | coche → cochecito |
| one syllable | pan → panecito |
| big | silla → sillón |
| a blow | puerta → portazo |
| disparaging | libro → libraco |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
-ito makes things smaller and the tone friendlier.
Espera un momentito.Wait just a moment.
After n, r and e it is -cito.
Nos tomamos un cafecito.We are having a nice little coffee.
-ón enlarges, often with an undertone.
Se sentó en el sillón.He sat down in the armchair.
-azo names a blow or a knock.
Cerró la puerta de un portazo.He slammed the door.
Example sentences
¿Me das un poquito?Could you give me a little?
Vive en una casita en el campo.She lives in a little house in the country.
Hace un poquito de frío.It is a bit cold.
Le dio un golpazo al coche.He gave the car quite a knock.
6 more example sentences
Dame un besito.Give me a little kiss.
Es un problemita, nada más.It is a minor problem, nothing more.
Compró un cochecito de segunda mano.He bought a small second-hand car.
Le pegó un codazo sin querer.He elbowed him by accident.
Está a un pasito de aquí.It is a stone's throw from here.
Se comió un bocadillo de jamón.He ate a ham roll.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The ending gets read literally as «small»: un momentito as «a small moment». What is meant is a politer «just a second». The other way round, the plain form can come across as blunter than intended — ahora against ahorita.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The ending -ito makes a word smaller — and usually something else entirely: friendlier, more familiar, gentler. Un momentito is not a shorter moment but a politer one. Un cafecito is not a small coffee but a companionable one. English has almost nothing like this, which is why it has to be learnt as a device rather than as a translation.
It is formed with -ito/-ita, and after n, r and e with -cito: cochecito, mujercita. After a one-syllable base it is -ecito: panecito, florecita.
Its counterpart -ón enlarges and often disparages: un cucharónis a ladleun solterónan old bachelor And -azo names a blow: un codazo is a jab with the elbow.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 99 · pero, sino and sino queBack to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: dar · hacer · cerrar · esperar · vivir · tomar · sentarse