-et-

-et-: Small or Slight

Level 3

-et- makes the meaning smaller or weaker.

How It Works

WordWith -et-Meaning
domo (house)dometosmall house
rivero (river)riveretostream
ridi (laugh)ridetismile
varma (warm)varmetaonly a little warm, lukewarm

The word keeps its basic meaning and only gets smaller. The ending stays at the end, so dometo is still a noun and varmeta is still an adjective.

Some words with -et- have a special meaning, so rideti means to smile, a quiet kind of laughing. The opposite of -et- is -eg-.

One root can give a whole family: domo (house), dometo (small house) and domego (big house).

Examples (4)

  1. Wei loĝas en dometo apud rivereto.

    Wei lives in a small house beside a stream.

    Dometo is a small house and rivereto is a small river.

  2. Ana ridetas al Kenji.

    Ana smiles at Kenji.

    Rideti is a quiet kind of ridi.

  3. La teo estas nur varmeta.

    The tea is only lukewarm.

    Varmeta means a little warm.

  4. Ni promenas laŭ la rivereto.

    We are walking along the stream.

    The word rivereto names a small river.

How It Connects

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-et-Level 3-et-: Small or Slight

Learn This First

The ending -et- makes something small.

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Patterns that build on this one.