A diminutive is a form of a word that conveys smallness or insignificance. In general, Brazilian Portuguese diminutives are formed by adding -inho / -inha or -zinho / -zinha to the end of a word, as in:
menina meaning girl ⇒ menininha meaning small girl
There are also some less formal diminutive endings, such as -acho (as in riacho meaning small river) or -ete (as in palacete meaning small palace).
The use of diminutives has become widespread in Brazilian Portuguese, and diminutive endings can be added to nouns, adjectives, and even adverbs. They can be used for something that is literally small, but they can also be used less literally, for example, to convey emphasis or politeness, as in um pouquinho de café meaning a little bit of coffee.
If you are now curious to know how to form diminutives in Brazilian Portuguese and all of their uses, this post is perfect for you. Let’s get started!
How to form diminutives in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, you can often form a diminutive by adding the ending -inho or -inha to a word, such as:
filho meaning son ⇒ filhinho meaning little son
However, some words will require a spelling change in order to add this diminutive ending, while others will use the different diminutive endings -zinho and -zinha:
lago meaning lake ⇒ laguinho meaning little lake
café meaning coffee ⇒ cafezinho meaning little coffee
Let’s first look at words that take the diminutive ending -inho/a.
When to use the diminutive endings ‘-inho’ or ‘-inha’?
Add the diminutive ending -inho / -inha to nouns, adjectives, or adverbs that end with an unstressed vowel. In this case, drop the last vowel (-o or -a) and add -inho or -inha. The ending depends on the final vowel of the base.
| Base Word | Diminutive | |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | mesa Translation: table | mesinha Translation: little table mes- + -inha |
| Adjective | pequeno Translation: small | pequeninho Translation: very small pequen- + -inho |
| Adverb | rápido Translation: fast | rapidinho Translation: fast rápid- + -inho |
When to use the diminutive endings ‘-zinho’ and ‘-zinha’?
Add the diminutive ending -zinho or -zinha to words ending in certain consonants and nasal sounds, stressed vowels, diphthongs, or the ending -dade. Let’s take a look at each.
Words ending in the consonants l or r, or the nasal sounds -m, -ão, -ãe, or -õe, such as:
pão meaning bread ⇒ pãozinho meaning little bread
animal meaning animal ⇒ animalzinho meaning little animal
flor meaning flower ⇒ florzinha meaning little flower
Words ending with stressed vowels, such as:
café meaning coffee ⇒ cafezinho meaning small coffee
pé meaning foot ⇒ pezinho meaning little foot
Words ending in diphthongs (-ai, -oa, -ei, or -au), such as:
pai meaning father ⇒ paizinho meaning little father
Words ending in -dade, such as:
cidade meaning city ⇒ cidadezinha meaning little city
How to form the diminutive of plural words in Brazilian Portuguese?
Most words whose diminutives are formed with -inho / -inha or -zinho / -zinha make their plural and diminutive forms by adding an -sto the singular diminutive form of the word, such as:
mesinha meaning little table ⇒ mesinhas
pequeninho meaning very small ⇒ pequeninhos
rapidinho meaning fast ⇒ rapidinhos
cidadezinha meaning small city ⇒ cidadezinhas
However, if the base of the word ends in l or r, or in the nasal sounds ão, ãe, or õe, things are a bit different. Instead of adding an -s to the diminutive of the singular word, as mentioned above, you will need to:
Make the plural of the base word, as in:
papel meaning paper ⇒ papéis meaning papers
Remove the -s from the plural form:
papéis ⇒ papéi-
If the word has a written accent in the last syllable, this must be removed as well:
papei-
Add -zinhos or -zinhas depending on the gender of the word:
papei- ⇒ papeizinhos
In the table below, take a look at how different the diminutive of singular and plural words are.
| Singular words | Diminutive of singular | Plural words | Diminutive of plural |
|---|---|---|---|
animal Translation: animal | animalzinho Translation: little animal | animais Translation: animals | animaizinhos Translation: little animals |
mulher Translation: woman | mulherzinha Translation: little woman | mulheres Translation: women | mulherezinhas Translation: little women |
pão Translation: bread | pãozinho Translation: little bread | pães Translation: breads | pãezinhos Translation: little breads |
If you want to know more about the plural of words in Brazilian Portuguese, read our post on the subject!
What are the other diminutive endings in Brazilian Portuguese?
There are other diminutive endings in Brazilian Portuguese that you can use instead of -(z)inho and -(z)inha in informal and everyday language, for example:
-ejo: lugar meaning place ⇒ lugarejo meaning small place
-ito or -ita: casa meaning house ⇒ casita meaning small house
Take a look at this list of more informal diminutive endings, as well as some examples!
When to use diminutives in Brazilian Portuguese?
In general, diminutives are used in Brazilian Portuguese to indicate that someone or something is small in size.
However, depending on the context, diminutives can be used more abstractly. Let’s now discuss the most common uses of the diminutive in Brazilian Portuguese. Here are some of their other uses:
To express affection or informality
Diminutives are often used to show affection, care, friendliness, and even informality.
- Affection:Minha queridinha, quando você vai me ligar?Translation: My darling, when will you call me?
- Informality:Você pode esperar só um minutinho?Translation: Can you wait only a few minutes?
For nicknames
The use of diminutives to make nicknames is very common in Brazil, and they are often given to kids, whose nicknames continue throughout life. For this reason, the diminutive also shows affection and care.
O Paulinho veio aqui ontem.Translation: Paul came here yesterday.Literally: Little Paul came here yesterday.You might have already heard of Ronaldinho, the famous Brazilian soccer player. This is one of those diminutive nicknames!
To minimize something
Diminutives are used to soften a word, lessen the importance of the thing it represents, or to minimize a situation.
Caio, você pode me ajudar? Estou com um probleminha.Translation: Caio, can you help me? I have a little problem.By using the diminutive word probleminha, instead of problema meaning problem, you are implying that the issue you have is easy to solve.
To express politeness
You may also use a diminutive to show politeness, especially when making questions and requiring or ordering something.
- Você pode me fazer um favorzinho?Translation: Can you do me a favor?Literally: Can you do me a little favor?
- Carlos, você pode ficar quietinho?Translation: Carlos, can you be quiet?Literally: Carlos, can you be a little quiet?
Here, when using favorzinho and quietinho, instead of favor and quieto, you want to make an order or request to sound less authoritarian. The diminutive is a good way to talk to people and not offend them or not sound so bossy.
To express sarcasm or irony
The use of diminutives to show sarcasm and irony is perhaps the hardest one to detect, especially if you are not familiar with the language yet. In this case, you may try to understand the context in order to comprehend the exact use of the diminutive.
Que lugarzinho é esse?Translation: What (unpleasant) place is this?Literally: What little place is this?The word lugarzinho, in the example above, can refer to a small place, but can also provide the opinion of the person speaking. In this case, it can mean a filthy or unpleasant place.
To add emphasis
In Brazilian Portuguese, diminutives are often used to emphasize the meaning of something. Let’s take a look at these examples below:
- Moro perto do parque. → Moro pertinho do parque.Translation: I live close to the park.
- Precisamos acordar cedo amanhã. → Precisamos acordar cedinho amanhã.Translation: We need to wake up early tomorrow.
To express dissatisfaction or displeasure
You can also use diminutives to emphasize your dissatisfaction or displeasure with regard to something or someone.
Que filminho mais chato!Translation: What a boring movie!
When do diminutive endings not express a specific function?
There are some words in Brazilian Portuguese that end in -inho or -inha, but are not diminutives.
sobrinho meaning nephew ⇔ sobrinha meaning niece
passarinho meaning bird
olhadinha meaning a look
Here is a words that end in -inho or -inha that are not diminutives.
Summary
Here’s what we’ve covered about forming Brazilian Portuguese diminutives:
They are often made by adding -inho, -inha, -zinho or -zinha to the end of a noun, adjective, or adverb: casa meaning house → casinha meaning little house
The plural of the diminutives:
With some words, you can add an -s to their diminutive form, as in: casinhas meaning little houses.
Other words have their own diminutive based on their plural forms: limão meaning lemon → limões meaning lemons → limõezinhos meaning little lemons
Some words use other diminutive endings, such as -ita, as in florzita meaning small flower.
We also covered the uses of diminutives. As we saw, diminutives are not only used to talk about a small size or quantity, but also:
to indicate affection
to form nicknames
to minimize the sense of something
to show politeness
to show sarcasm or irony
to show dissatisfaction or displeasure
Finally, we talked about some words that end in -inho or -inha that are not diminutive.
Now, it's time to practice how to form and use diminutives in Brazilian Portuguese!
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