Diminutives in Spanish Using diminutives in Spanish is much more than just a way to express that something is small or endearing. The extensive use of diminutives, especially in some Latin American countries, is an expression of a warm, affectionate culture of friendly manners -Nouns casa – casita house – little house león – leoncito lion – little lion -Adjectives guapo – guapito handsome – handsome-ish malo – malito bad – a bit bad -People cura – curita priest – little priest hija – hijita daughter – little daughter -Names Carlos – Carlitos Marcela – Marcelita List of Diminutives Rules and Suffixes -o, -a Endings If a word ends in the letters o or a, all you have to do to add a diminutive is eliminate that last vowel and add either -ito or -ita. pato – patito duck – little duck mesa – mesita table – little table -e Endings For Spanish words ending with the letter e, just add -cito or -cita after the e. calle – callecita street – little street café – cafecito coffee – little coffee -n, -r Endings For words ending in n or r, just add -cito or -cita at the end of the word to form the diminutive. favor – favorcito favor – little favor volcán – volcancito volcano – little volcano Other Consonant Endings For all the other consonants besides n or r, just add -ito or -ita at the end of the word. árbol – arbolito tree – little tree papel – papelito paper – small paper reloj – relojito clock – small clock The -ecito, -ecita Exception Sometimes, instead of simply adding -ito/-ita to words, you have to add an -ecito/-ecita ending replacing the final vowel or following a consonant. This is mostly due to conventional use and sometimes, even regionalisms. Consider them exceptions to the rule. flor – florecita flower – small flower nuevo – nuevecito new sol – solecito sun