In French, diminutives and augmentatives are sometimes used to exaggerate descriptions or show certain emotions such as endearment or affection. Understanding some rules about diminutives and augmentatives and familiarity with some vocabulary in this category will help you enhance your understanding of the French language.
Diminutives
In the English language, we sometimes form the diminutive by suffixing “–ie” or “–y,” as in “doggie” for “dog” and “kitty” for “kitten,” indicating small size and sometimes the state or quality of being familiarly known, lovable, pitiable, or contemptible. Sometimes other suffixes are used, such as “–ette” in “kitchenette” and “novelette,” “–let” in “booklet” and “droplet,” and “–ling” in “duckling” and “gosling” (a young goose).
In French, the purpose of using the diminutive is often similar to that in English. In fact, many diminutives have found their way into English from French.
“-et”/“-ette”
The most common diminutive suffixes in French are “-et” for masculine and “-ette” for feminine. If the word ends with a vowel, the final vowel is dropped before adding the suffix. Here are some nouns in diminutive forms:
| livrem (boy) | livr | + | -et | = | livretm (booklet) |
| jardinm (garden) | jardin | + | -et | = | jardinetm (little garden) |
| fillef (girl) | fill | + | -ette | = | fillettef (little girl) |
| cigarem (cigar) | cigar | + | -ette | = | cigarettef (cigarette) |
| maisonf (house) | maison | + | -ette | = | maisonettef (little house) |
The suffixes “-et” and “-ette” can also be used with adjectives. In this context, the suffix has a similar function to the “-ish” suffix in English. The suffix is usually added to the feminine form of the adjective, for example:
| gentillef (nice) | gentill | + | -et -ette | = | gentilletm gentillettef | (somewhat nice) |
| jaunem,f (yellow) | jaun | + | -et -ette | = | jaunetm jaunettef | (yellowish) |
| mollef (soft) | moll | + | -et -ette | = | molletm mollettef | (somewhat soft) |
In addition, some verbs take on the suffix “-et” or “-ette” to form a noun that is related to the verb, for example:
| jouer (to play) | jou | + | -et | = | jouetm (toy) |
| sonner (to ring) | sonn | + | -ette | = | sonnettem (bell) |
| fumer (to smoke) | fum | + | -et | = | fumetm (aroma) |
Finally, some given names, especially female names, take the suffix “-et” or “-ette” to form diminutive forms, for example:
| Marie | Mari | + | -ette | = | Mariette |
| Anne | Ann | + | -ette | = | Annette |
| Jeanne | Jeann | + | -ette | = | Jeannette |
“-ot,” “-otte,” & “-on”
Other less common diminutives in French include: “-ot,” “-otte,” and “-on.” Here are some examples:
| Pierre | Pierr | + | -ot | = | Pierrot |
| chatm (cat) | chat | + | -on | = | chatonm (kitten) |
| oursm (bear) | ours | + | -on | = | oursonm (cub) |
Although these are not all the suffixes used to form diminutives in French, most other suffixes are either of mainly regional use or rarely encountered in daily life.
Augmentatives
Augmentatives are the opposite of diminutives. They indicate that something is large or intense, sometimes in an undesirable way. Augmentatives can apply to nouns and adjectives. In the English language, although not versatile and common, augmentatives are formed by using prefixes rather than suffixes. You can think of the prefix “super–” in “superpower” and “supernatural,” the prefix “mega–” in “megaphone” and “megastore,” the prefix “grand–” in “grandmaster” and “grandfather,” the prefix “over–” in “overgrown” and “overqualified,” and the prefix “arch–” in “archrival” and “archenemy.”
In French, it is also uncommon to use augmentative suffixes. Instead, similar prefixes to the ones used in English are sometimes used with some words, such as: “supermarché” (supermarket), “surhumain” (superhuman), “hyperactif” (hyperactive), etc.
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