Diminutives
Add a suffix to make something little or dear: стол → столче, къща → къщичка, момиче → момиченце.
How It Works
1. Masculine nouns. The most common suffix is -че, and the result is neuter: стол → столче, нож → ножче, град → градче (small town), брат → братче, хляб → хлебче. So you say малко столче and столчето, and the plural is столчета (see neuter plurals).
2. Feminine nouns. Use -ка, -ичка or -ица. The noun stays feminine: къща → къщичка, маса → масичка, сестра → сестричка, вода → водичка. The consonant before the suffix often changes: книга → книжка, ръка → ръчичка.
3. Neuter nouns. Use -це or -енце. The noun stays neuter: село → селце, момиче → момиченце, дете → детенце, кафе → кафенце.
4. Meaning. A diminutive can show small size, affection, or friendly politeness. In shops and cafés you often hear Едно кафенце, моля or Искате ли торбичка? (Would you like a bag?). Adjectives and adverbs have them too: малък → мъничък, малко → мъничко (a tiny bit).
5. Words with their own meaning. Some diminutives are now separate words: лъжичка (teaspoon, from лъжица, spoon) and книжка (booklet). The everyday word момиче (girl) is itself neuter because it was formed the same way.
6. Agreement. Adjectives and articles follow the gender of the diminutive, not of the original noun (see noun gender).
Examples (6)
- Детето седна на малкото столче.
The child sat on the little chair.
Столче is neuter, so the adjective is малкото.
- Живеем в една къщичка до гората.
We live in a little house by the forest.
- Момиченцето спи в креватчето си.
The little girl is sleeping in her little bed.
- Едно кафенце, моля.
A coffee, please.
Here the diminutive sounds friendly. It says nothing about size.
- Сложи една лъжичка захар в чая.
Put a teaspoon of sugar in the tea.
- Роден съм в едно малко градче на морето.
I was born in a small town by the sea.
Common Mistakes
Keeping masculine agreement after -че.
Това е малък столче.Това е малко столче.Nouns in -че are neuter, so the adjective takes the neuter form малко.
Forming the plural like a masculine noun.
Купих две столчи.Купих две столчета.Nouns in -че form the plural with -ета, so столче becomes столчета.
Forgetting the consonant change.
Купих една книгка.Купих една книжка.Before -ка, г changes to ж, so книга becomes книжка.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Diminutives need noun gender.
Related Patterns
- Noun Gender
The suffix can change a noun's gender.
Level 1 - Neuter Nouns in -о/-еNeuter Nouns Ending in О or Е
Diminutives in -че and -це are ordinary neuter nouns.
Level 1 - Feminine Nouns in -а/-яFeminine Nouns Ending in А or Я
Feminine diminutives in -ка and -ичка end in -а.
Level 1 - Masculine Nouns Ending in a Consonant
The masculine nouns that -че turns into neuter ones.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice Diminutives in Bubblegum
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