# Diminutives: -ito, -ita and friends

> id: grammar.nouns.diminutives · category: grammar · depth: standard · levels: B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** -ito/-ita shrinks, softens, or endears: casita, momentito, ahorita. Hugely frequent in Latin America, with regional favorites (-ico, -illo, -ingo).

Diminutives shrink, soften, or add affection to a noun, and they are extremely frequent in Latin American Spanish. The default suffix is -ito/-ita: casa → casita, momento → momentito, perro → perrito. Words ending in -e, -n, or -r often take -cito/-cita: café → cafecito, joven → jovencito.

Spelling adjusts at the seam to keep the sound: poco → poquito, amigo → amiguito, chica → chiquita, luz → lucecita. Other regional suffixes exist: -illo, -ico (Caribbean, parts of Colombia), and in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) the local -ingo: chiquitingo.

Crucially, the meaning goes far beyond size. Diminutives convey politeness (un momentito, ¿me das una ayudita?), affection (mi hijita, abuelita), softening (está gordito, es feíto), and nuance of time — ahorita famously ranges from 'right now' to 'later' depending on the country.

## Examples
- Espérame un ratito. — Wait for me a little moment.
- ¿Tomamos un cafecito? — Shall we have a (nice little) coffee?
- Esperá un ratito que ya casi termino. — Wait just a little bit, I'm almost done.

Related: grammar.nouns.augmentatives, grammar.nouns.suffixes-common

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