HAVE you ever noticed that whenever you ask for something in a Spanish bar, restaurant or shop, the barman, waiter or shopkeeper invariably comes back at you with something a little different, as if they’re correcting you? Don’t be disheartened; they’re not. By adding a little something extra to the end of the word you’ve used, they’re just being friendly. They’re using the Spanish diminutive suffix, to give it its technical name.

Let’s look at some examples. In a bar, ask for una cerveza, una caña or un tubo and the barman, more often than not, will confirm your order with una cervecita, una cañita or un tubito. This doesn’t only apply to alcoholic drinks, of course; un zumo becomes un zumito, and un café becomes un cafelillo or un cafelito.

When asked to wait a moment, a minute or a second, you will be told un momentito/un momentillo, un minutito or un segundito. The nicest examples of this diminutive suffix I’ve come across recently are muy cerquita de aquí (very very near here) and ahora mismito (right away). And surely the most sublime example of the use of this linguistic feature is in the double diminutive chiquitita (little girl or girlie), as immortalised in the Abba song of that name.

The grammar is that, in theory, you can add the suffix –ito, -ita, -itos, -itas or –illo, -illa, -illos, -illas to any Spanish noun, the effect being to make the thing smaller, more familiar, more affectionate. Sometimes it doesn’t really change the meaning much at all!

Some nouns with diminutive suffixes have become words in their own right, for example:
* perro – dog; perrito – puppy; perrito caliente – hot dog
* gato – cat; gatito – pussycat
* pan – bread; panecillo – bread roll
* cigarro – cigar; cigarrillo - cigarette
* amor – love; amorcito - darling
* paseo – walk; paseíto – little stroll
* boca – mouth; bocadillo – sandwich
* fresco – fresh; fresquito – nice and fresh

There are, of course, suffixes which make things bigger, but that’s the subject of another article… Hasta pronto and keep on listening…!

© Don Pablo

Don Pablo is Paul Whitelock, a graduate in Spanish and German, a retired Ofsted school inspector and former UK languages teacher. He now lives with his German wife near Ronda and is a freelance journalist, translator and interpreter. Paul can be contacted by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by telephone on (+34) 952 87 40 38 or (+34) 636 52 75 16. www.a1-solutions-spain.com 

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Those Little Things That Mean A Lot ...
Monday, 05 October 2009
HAVE you ever noticed that whenever you ask for something in a Spanish bar, restaurant or shop, the barman, waiter or shopkeeper invariably...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

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