A2 Nouns & Articles 1 min read سهل

Portuguese Diminutives: Making Things Cute (-inho/-inha)

وضع علامة كمكتسب
تدرّب عليها

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Add -inho (masculine) or -inha (feminine) to the end of a noun to make it smaller or express affection.

  • Remove the final vowel (if present) and add -inho/a: 'casa' becomes 'casinha'.
  • If the word ends in a consonant, add -zinho/a: 'papel' becomes 'papelzinho'.
  • Match the gender of the original noun: 'o carro' -> 'o carrinho', 'a mesa' -> 'a mesinha'.
Noun (base) + (-inho/-inha) = Cute/Small Noun

نظرة عامة

Diminutives are one of the most distinctive features of Portuguese! Add -inho/-inha to make things small, cute, or show affection: casa → casinha (little house), gato → gatinho (kitty). Words ending in a consonant or stressed vowel use -zinho/-zinha: café → cafezinho (little coffee), flor → florzinha.

Diminutive Formation Rules

Ending Rule Example
Vowel (a, e, o)
Drop vowel + -inho/a
casa -> casinha
Consonant
Add -zinho/a
papel -> papelzinho
-ão
Add -zinho/a
coração -> coraçõezinhos

Meanings

The diminutive suffix is used to indicate small size, affection, or to soften the tone of a request.

1

Physical size

Describing something literally small.

“O gato é um gatinho.”

“Comprei uma casinha para o cachorro.”

2

Affection

Expressing love or endearment toward a person or object.

“Oi, meu amorzinho!”

“Que bonitinho esse presente.”

3

Softening/Politeness

Making a request or statement sound less abrupt or more polite.

“Só um minutinho, por favor.”

“Queria uma aguinha.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Portuguese Diminutives: Making Things Cute (-inho/-inha)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Noun + -inho/a
O gatinho é fofo.
Negative
Não é + Noun + -inho/a
Não é um gatinho.
Question
É um + Noun + -inho/a?
É um gatinho?
Consonant
Noun + -zinho/a
O papelzinho está aqui.
Plural
Noun + -zinhos/as
Os gatinhos são fofos.

طيف الرسمية

رسمي
Um café, por favor.

Um café, por favor. (Ordering in a cafe)

محايد
Um cafezinho, por favor.

Um cafezinho, por favor. (Ordering in a cafe)

غير رسمي
Me dá um cafezinho!

Me dá um cafezinho! (Ordering in a cafe)

عامية
Bora um cafezinho?

Bora um cafezinho? (Ordering in a cafe)

Diminutive Functions

Diminutive

Size

  • casinha small house

Affection

  • amorzinho sweetheart

Politeness

  • minutinho a quick minute
سجّل مجاناً لقراءة الشرح الكامل

أمثلة حسب المستوى

1

O gatinho é pequeno.

The little cat is small.

1

Quero um cafezinho.

I want a little coffee.

1

Só um minutinho, por favor.

Just a little minute, please.

1

Que presentinho adorável!

What an adorable little gift!

1

Ela deu um sorrisinho tímido.

She gave a shy little smile.

1

O projeto é apenas um rascunhozinho.

The project is just a little draft.

سهل الخلط

Portuguese Diminutives: Making Things Cute (-inho/-inha) مقابل Augmentative (-ão)

Learners mix up -inho (small) and -ão (big).

أخطاء شائعة

✗

o casinha

✓

a casinha

Gender mismatch.
✗

gatoinho

✓

gatinho

Did not drop the vowel.
✗

papelinho

✓

papelzinho

Missing the 'z' for consonant endings.
✗

casazinha

✓

casinha

Added 'z' to a vowel ending.
✗

o amorzinho

✓

o amorzinho

Correct, but check if context is appropriate.
✗

coraçãonho

✓

coraçõezinhos

Incorrect plural/diminutive form.
✗

mesa-inha

✓

mesinha

Hyphenation is not used.
✗

o problemazinho

✓

o probleminha

Irregular root change.
✗

o cafézinho

✓

o cafezinho

Accent mark placement.
✗

o livrinho

✓

o livrinho

Correct, but ensure it's not 'livrozinho'.
✗

o carro-inho

✓

o carrinho

Morphological error.
✗

o grande-inho

✓

o grandinho

Adjective usage.
✗

o hotelinho

✓

o hotelzinho

Consonant rule.
✗

o pãozinho

✓

o pãozinho

Correct.

أنماط الجُمل

Eu quero um ___.

Real World Usage

Ordering food very common

Um sanduichinho, por favor.

سجّل مجاناً لرؤية جميع الأمثلة
💡

Don't overdo it

In formal writing, avoid diminutives.

Smart Tips

Use -inho to sound polite.

Quero café. → Quero um cafezinho.

النطق

/ˈiɲu/

Nasalization

The 'inho' suffix is nasalized in Brazilian Portuguese.

Softening

↗️ Um cafezinho?

Polite request

احفظها

وسيلة تذكّر

Think of 'inho' as a tiny 'in' (in-side) a small box.

ربط بصري

Imagine a giant house shrinking into a tiny 'casinha' in your palm.

Rhyme

For things that are small or to show some love, add -inho or -inha, fit like a glove.

Story

Maria went to the cafe. She asked for a 'cafezinho'. The waiter brought a 'xicarazinha' (little cup). She felt so happy and gave him a 'sorrisinho'.

Word Web

gatinhocasinhacafezinhominutinhoamorzinhobeijinho

تحدٍّ

Spend 5 minutes today adding -inho to every object you see in your room.

ملاحظات ثقافية

Diminutives are used constantly to show friendliness.

From Latin '-inus'.

بدايات محادثة

“

Você quer um cafezinho?

مواضيع للكتابة اليومية

Describe your room using diminutives.

أخطاء شائعة

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Sign up free to see all tips

Test Yourself

Add the diminutive to 'casa'.

A ___ é pequena.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: casinha
Correct suffix.

Score: /1

تمارين تطبيقية

1 exercises
Add the diminutive to 'casa'.

A ___ é pequena.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: casinha
Correct suffix.

Score: /1

الأسئلة الشائعة (1)

No, it sounds weird for some words.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

سجّل مجاناً للتدريب

In Other Languages

Spanish high

-ito/-ita

Spanish uses -ito while Portuguese uses -inho.

French moderate

-et/-ette

French is less productive than Portuguese.

German moderate

-chen

German is strictly neuter.

Japanese low

-chan

Japanese is a suffix for names, not nouns.

Arabic low

Fu'ayl pattern

Arabic is non-concatenative.

Chinese low

小 (xiǎo)

Chinese is a prefix, not a suffix.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Next
Portuguese Imperative: Giving Commands with Regular Verbs (Fale! Coma! Abra!)

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