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The Master Sword... Your sword... She's the key to destroying the Demon King. He defeated her before, but... a long slumber will heal these grievous wounds. And when you two next face the Demon King... you will have my strength to help you, through her. Link, you are our final hope. I pray... this sword reaches you in the future.
One linguistic aspect that is very common in Spanish but very limited in English are morphological diminutives - that is, diminutives formed through derivation. English does use diminutives, but most often by adding the adjective "little": "Little Red Riding Hood", for example, becomes "Caperucita Roja" in Spanish, from "caperuza". There are also a few morphological diminutives in English, like "kitty" (from "kitten"), or "piglet" (from "pig"), but these are rare.
Most importantly, when translating from Spanish to English, many diminutives will be lost in the process, simply because they are nowhere near as frequent in English as they are in Spanish. "My little grandma" sounds quite odd in English, but "mi abuelita" is so widely used in Spanish that it's easily in the top 10 of Spanish words every English speaker knows.
Diminutives can be somewhat difficult to use if you're not familiar with them, but they'll make you sound more natural in Spanish. So let's take a look at how they work!
⧠Formation â§
· The diminutives suffixes are added most commonly to nouns, and the possible suffixes are:
-ito, -ita: the most common and standard. It has the variations -cito and -ecito.
Silla -> Sillita
Coche -> Cochecito
Juego -> Jueguecito
The reason why this and the following suffixes have variations will be explained in a different post!
-illo, -illa: particularly common in Andalusia and parts of South America. It has the variations -cillo and -ecillo.
Perro -> Perillo
Baile -> Bailecillo
Pan -> Panecillo
-ico, -ica: particularly common in Central America, the Caribbean, and a few Spanish regions. It has the variations -cico and -ecico.
Conejo -> Conejico
Diente -> Dientecico
Mujer -> Mujercica
-Ăn, -ina: more restricted in its usage, although some frequently used words can have this suffix. It has the variations âcĂn and -ecĂn.
Rato -> RatĂn
Momento -> MomentĂn
Chiquito -> ChiquitĂn
Pelo -> PelĂn
This last one is very commonly found in the expression "un pelĂn" (a little bit).
Mueve el jarrĂłn un pelĂn a la derecha, que me estorba un poco. - Move the vase just a little to the right, it's getting in my way a bit.
-ete, -eta: more restricted in usage. It can also express that the thing in question is of little importance. It has the variations -cete and -ecete.
Novia -> Novieta
PelĂcula -> Peliculeta
Molino -> Molinete
-uelo, -uela: more restricted in usage. It expresses that the thing in question is of little importance. It has the variants âzuelo and -ezuelo.
Arroyo -> Arroyuelo
LadrĂłn -> Ladronzuelo
Puerta -> Portezuela
It is believed that Venezuela has this very same diminutive. Some historians say that when Amerigo Vespucci arrived to what would become Venezuela, the land reminded him of Venice, so he called it Veneziola ("Little Venice"), which in turn was translated to Spanish as Venezuela.
· It is possible to add these diminutives to other parts of speech. The two most common are:
- Adjectives: The diminutive suffix usually softens the quality of the adjective.
Bajo -> Bajito
Guapo -> Guapillo
Tonto -> Tontito
Some of these are diminutives are used when you don't want to directly call someone the word itself. "Bajito" and "tontito" are less offensive than "bajo" and "tonto". "Guapillo" also has the connotation of "kind of", and can be used if you don't find the person pretty enough (but not ugly either), or if you don't want to fully admit that the person is indeed very pretty. In all cases tho, the diminutive is there to say something indirectly.
- Adverbs: There are fewer adverbs with diminutive forms. You can say âpoquitoâ or âmuchito,â but not âmasitoâ or "menosito".
Ahora -> Ahorita
Cerca -> Cerquita
Lejos -> Lejitos
Despacio -> Despacito
RĂĄpido -> Rapidito
Cuidado -> Cuidadito
Poco -> Poquito
In these cases, the diminutive form can serve to soften the quality expressed by the adverb, to convey a certain friendliness toward the speaker, or to express irony.
La sopa estĂĄ un poquito salada, pero no pasa nada, casi no noto la sal. -The soup is a little salty, but it's okay, I can barely taste the salt. <- The "poquito" also has the meaning of "a little bit", but in this case it's used as an attempt at making the cook not feel bad for having added more salt than needed.
Corta el papel despacito para que no te equivoques. <- Something you could say to a child to sound more friendly, or just in a colloquial environment.
ÂĄVenga, rapidito! Que se nos va a hacer tarde. <- The opposite of the previous one. Here "rapidito" has somewhat of a rude connotation - the speaker is impatient and wants things done quickly.
⧠Usage â§
· Diminutives have the following uses:
- To indicate that something is small.
He visto un pajarillo bebiendo agua del estanque. Creo que me hubiera cabido en la palma de la mano de lo chiquito que era. - I saw a little bird drinking water from the pond. I think it could have fit in the palm of my hand, it was so tiny.
- To inspire affection, warmth, or compassion. In these cases, the literal meaning of âsmallâ is lost, so the word with the diminutive suffix doesnât necessarily have to be small in size.
Todos los findes de semana nuestros padres nos llevan a ver a la abuelita. - Every weekend our parents take us to visit Grandma.
- To indicate contempt or insignificance, or that something is of poor quality.
No te angusties por eso, es un problemilla de nada. Ya verĂĄs cĂłmo se resuelve solo. - Donât worry about it, itâs just a minor problem. Youâll see how it resolves itself.
- To express courtesy or humility.
Dicen que les gustarĂa pasar un ratito con vosotros, si no estĂĄis muy ocupados ahora. - They say theyâd like to spend a little while with you, if youâre not too busy right now.
ÂĄMenuda tardecita llevo! Voy de problema en problema. Hoy por la noche voy a tomarme un descanso bien merecido. - What a terrible afternoon Iâm having! Iâm going from one problem to the next. Tonight Iâm going to take a well-deserved break.
ÂĄVaya con el cochecito que se ha comprado! Es tan grande que no le cabe en el garaje. - Look at that car he bought! Itâs so big it doesnât fit in the garage.
· Also, some diminutives might not have an affectionate connotation at all. The word "españolito", for example, is exclusively used to mock nationalistic Spaniards.
· Similarly, not all words that end in these suffixes are diminutives, or they might have been diminutives in the past, but their meaning has become so removed from its etymology that they can't be considered diminutives as such. A "bolsillo" is not a "small bag" but a "pocket", "gatillo" can mean "little cat" and "trigger", and while "rodilla" does come from "rueda" ("wheel"), the connection between the two is lost in the vast majority of Spanish speakers.
· And one last thing - the frequency of diminutives varies depending on the region and the situation. In Latin America diminutives are more common across all age groups, while in Spain they have a more restricted use in comparison, and if used incorrectly they might sound childish.
⧠Final note â§
· As mentioned at the beginning, diminutives are as widespread as they are complex to master, since there's rarely a direct translation from English, so you do have to intuitively know when to use them. But with this information in mind, it'll be easier to understand why Spanish speakers use them the way they do, and thus you'll begin to use them much faster. ÂĄPoquito a poco y mucho ĂĄnimo! đșđ
