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

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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

Overview

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.

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Um café, por favor.

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

Neutral
Um cafezinho, por favor.

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

Informell
Me dá um cafezinho!

Me dá um cafezinho! (Ordering in a cafe)

Umgangssprache
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
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Beispiele nach Niveau

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.

Leicht verwechselbar

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

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

Häufige Fehler

✗

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.

Satzmuster

Eu quero um ___.

Real World Usage

Ordering food very common

Um sanduichinho, por favor.

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💡

Don't overdo it

In formal writing, avoid diminutives.

Smart Tips

Use -inho to sound polite.

Quero café. → Quero um cafezinho.

Aussprache

/ˈiɲu/

Nasalization

The 'inho' suffix is nasalized in Brazilian Portuguese.

Softening

↗️ Um cafezinho?

Polite request

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

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

Visuelle Assoziation

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

Herausforderung

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

Kulturelle Hinweise

Diminutives are used constantly to show friendliness.

From Latin '-inus'.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Você quer um cafezinho?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Describe your room using diminutives.

Häufige Fehler

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

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Test Yourself

Add the diminutive to 'casa'.

A ___ é pequena.

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

Score: /1

Ubungsaufgaben

1 exercises
Add the diminutive to 'casa'.

A ___ é pequena.

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

Score: /1

FAQ (1)

No, it sounds weird for some words.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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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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