A2 Nouns & Articles 1 min read かんたん

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

学習済みにする
練習する

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.

フォーマル度スペクトル

フォーマル
Um café, por favor.

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

ニュートラル
Um cafezinho, por favor.

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

カジュアル
Me dá um cafezinho!

Me dá um cafezinho! (Ordering in a cafe)

スラング
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
無料登録して完全な解説を読む

レベル別の例文

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.

間違えやすい

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

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

よくある間違い

✗

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.

文型パターン

Eu quero um ___.

Real World Usage

Ordering food very common

Um sanduichinho, por favor.

無料登録してすべての例文を見る
💡

Don't overdo it

In formal writing, avoid diminutives.

Smart Tips

Use -inho to sound polite.

Quero café. → Quero um cafezinho.

発音

/ˈiɲu/

Nasalization

The 'inho' suffix is nasalized in Brazilian Portuguese.

Softening

↗️ Um cafezinho?

Polite request

暗記しよう

記憶術

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

視覚的連想

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

チャレンジ

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

文化メモ

Diminutives are used constantly to show friendliness.

From Latin '-inus'.

会話のきっかけ

“

Você quer um cafezinho?

日記のテーマ

Describe your room using diminutives.

よくある間違い

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

Incorrect

正解

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

練習問題

1 exercises
Add the diminutive to 'casa'.

A ___ é pequena.

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

Score: /1

よくある質問 (1)

No, it sounds weird for some words.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

無料登録して練習する

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!)

Related Grammar Rules

A1

ポルトガル語の複数形：R, S, Z で終わる単語 (-es)

### Overview ポルトガル語の学習を始めた皆さん、こんにちは！今日は、ポルトガル語の文法の中でも非常に重要で、かつルールが...
A1

飲食の基本: 注文、性別、そして「Lanche」と「Almoço」の違い

Overview リスボンやリオのパン屋さんに入って、ただパンを一つ買うだけでパニックになったことはありませんか？それはあなただ...
A1

形容詞の性別一致ルール (o/a)

### Overview ポルトガル語を学び始めたばかりの皆さん、こんにちは！今日は、ポルトガル語の基礎中の基礎である「形容詞の性一...
A1

ポルトガル語の体の部位：頭、手、足の指

Overview ブラジルの薬剤師に `dedo` が痛いと説明しようとして、それが指なのか足の指なのか自分でも分からなくなったことはあ...
A1

ポルトガル語の短縮形：前置詞 ＋ 冠詞 (do, na, ao)

### Overview ポルトガル語の学習を始めて、まず最初に驚くことの一つが「単語の合体」です。日本語にはない概念ですが、これは...
Was this helpful?

コメント (0)

ログインしてコメント
まだコメントがありません。最初に考えをシェアしましょう！