In Italian, diminutives and augmentatives are sometimes used to exaggerate descriptions or show certain emotions such as endearment or affection. Understanding some rules and familiarity with some vocabulary in this category will help you enhance your understanding of the Italian language and culture.
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 Italian, the purpose of using the diminutive is often similar to that in English, although in a few cases, the diminutive may be used to express sarcasm or negativity.
Unfortunately, there are not always specific rules on which suffix to use for a particular word in Italian. However, we discuss the most common examples and hope that with practice you can continue to enrich your vocabulary in this area.
1. “-ino”
The suffix “-ino” is commonly used to form diminutives from masculine singular nouns and adjectives. Regular end-changes often apply for feminine and plural forms.
Let us take some examples of diminutives ending in “-ino”:
| ragazzom (boy) | ragazz | + | -ino | = | ragazzinom (young or little boy) |
| ragazzaf (girl) | ragazz | + | -ina | = | ragazzinaf (young or little girl) |
| gattom (cat) | gatt | + | -ino | = | gattinom (kitten) |
| tazzaf (cup) | tazz | + | -ina | = | tazzinaf (small cup) |
| manof (hand) | man | + | -ina | = | maninaf [1] (little hand) |
| bellom (beautiful) | bell | + | -ino | = | bellinom (cute) |
Adverbs
The above examples include nouns and adjectives. Some adverbs can also be used in diminutive forms. These usually use the “-ino” suffix. For example:
| bene (well) | ben | + | -ino | = | benino (goodish) |
| male (badly) | mal | + | -ino | = | malino (a little badly) |
| presto (soon) | prest | + | -ino | = | prestino (a little soon) |
| tanto (much) | tant | + | -ino | = | tantino (a little much) |
| poco (little) | poc | + | -ino | = | pochino (a tiny bit) |
| tardi (late) | tard | + | -ino | = | tardinom (a bit late) |
Insertion of “-ic-” or “-ol-” before the suffix “-ino”
Sometimes “-ic-” or “-ol-” is inserted before the suffix, forming the modified suffixes “-icino” or “-olino,” respectively. Here are some examples:
| postom (place) | post | + | -ino | = | posticinom (small place) |
| librom (book) | libr | + | -ino | = | libriccinom (booklet) |
| topom (mouse) | top | + | -ino | = | topolinom (little mouse) |
| magrom (thin) | magr | + | -ino | = | magrolinof (skinny) |
| canem (dog) | can | + | -ino | = | cagnolinom (small dog) |
The suffix “-ino” is widely used when affectionately describing or talking about babies. For example, “faccino” (little face), “manina” (little hand), etc.
2. “-etto”
Another common suffix used to form diminutives is “-etto.” This suffix is often applied affectionately to names, especially female names, using the suffix feminine form “-etta.” For example, “Lauretta” (diminutive for “Laura”), “Paoletta” (diminutive for “Paola”), etc. Let us take a look at some examples:
| casaf (house) | cas | + | -etta | = | casettaf (small house) |
| poverom (poor) | pover | + | -etto | = | poverettom (poor little guy) |
| canem (dog) | can | + | -etto | = | cagnettom (small dog) |
| borsaf (purse) | bors | + | -etta | = | borsettaf (small purse) |
| piccolom (small) | piccol | + | -etto | = | piccolettom (shorty) |
3. “-ello”
The suffix “-ello” can also be used to form diminutives. Here are some examples:
| alberom (tree) | alber | + | -ello | = | alberellom (small tree) |
| finestraf (window) | finestr | + | -ella | = | finestrellam (little window) |
| cattivom (bad) | cattiv | + | -ello | = | cattivellom (naughty) |
Sometimes “-ic-” or “-er-” is inserted before the suffix, forming the modified suffixes “-icello” or “-erello,” respectively. Here are some examples:
| campom (field) | camp | + | –icello | = | campicellom (small field) |
| fattom (fact) | fatt | + | –erello | = | fatterellom (anecdote or minor event) |
4. “-uccio”
The suffix “-uccio” is sometimes used to form diminutives showing affection or endearment when used with proper nouns. For example, “Micheluccio” (diminutive for “Michele”), “Guiduccio” (diminutive for “Guido”), “Mariuccia” (diminutive for “Maria”), etc. In other contexts, it may be used as a pejorative. Here are some examples of diminutives using the suffix “-uccio”:
| avvocatom (lawyer) | avvocat | + | -uccio | = | avvocatucciom (inferior lawyer) |
| caldom (hot) | cald | + | -uccio | = | calducciom (cozy) |
| cappellom (hat) | cappell | + | -uccio | = | cappellucciom (worn-out hat) |
| casaf (house) | cas | + | -uccia | = | casucciaf (small cozy house) |
| ziom (uncle) | zi | + | -uccio | = | ziucciom (dear uncle) |
5. “-otto”
The suffix “-otto” is used to form diminutives. It is sometimes used to refer to baby animals. Here are some examples of diminutives that take the suffix “-otto”:
| giovanem (young) | giovan | + | -otto | = | giovanottom (young lad) |
| aquilaf (eagle) | aquil | + | -otto | = | aquilottom (eaglet) |
| tigref (tiger) | tigr | + | -otto | = | tigrottom (tiger cub) |
Sometimes “-acchi-” is inserted before the suffix, forming the modified suffix “-acchiotto.” Here are some examples:
| lupom (wolf) | lup | + | –acchiotto | = | lupacchiottom (wolf cub) |
| orsom (bear) | ors | + | –acchiotto | = | orsacchiottom (bear cub or teddy bear) |
| tigref (tiger) | tigr | + | –acchiotto | = | tigracchiottom (tiger cub) |
6. “-uzzo”
Another less common suffix is “-uzzo,” although is more common in some Southern regions of Italy. Examples include:
| pietraf (stone) | pietr | + | -uzza | = | pietruzzaf (pebble) |
| pagliaf (straw) | pagli | + | -uzza | = | pagliuzzaf (little straw) |
We can also sometimes combine two diminutive suffixes, e.g., “casettina” (very small house), “giovanottino” (young lad).
Although these are not all the suffixes used to form diminutives in Italian, 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 as 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.”
“-one” & “-ona”
In Italian, we mainly use the suffix “-one,” and in less common cases “-ona,” to form augmentatives. It is common for many feminine nouns to change their gender to masculine. In this case, they often take the suffix “-one” to form the augmentative. To form the augmentative, the final vowel is dropped, and the suffix is added.
Let us take some examples:
| ragazzom (boy) | ragazz | + | -one | = | ragazzonem (very tall boy) |
| casaf (house) | cas | + | -one | = | casonem (big house) |
| librom (book) | libr | + | -one | = | libronem (very large book) |
| portaf (door) | port | + | -one | = | portonem (main gate or entrance) |
| donnaf (woman) | donn | + | -one | = | donnonem (very tall woman) |
| sorellaf (sister) | sorell | + | -ona | = | sorellonaf (big sister) |
Other Augmentatives
While these are the most common suffixes, there are some less-common suffixes, some of which may also have a pejorative or sarcastic connotation, such as “-accione” and “-acchione.” For example:
| buonom (good) | b | + | -accione | = | bonaccionem (good-natured) |
| mattom (mad) | matt | + | -acchione | = | mattacchionem (joker) |
| furbom (cunning) | furb | + | -acchione | = | furbacchionem (slick) |
Notice that the above examples are of singular nouns. The plural is often regular and formed by changing the ending to “-i” for masculine plural, e.g., “casoni” (big houses) and “-e” for feminine plural, e.g., “sorellone” (big sisters).
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