-vy / -ngy

A Little: -vy and -ngy

Level 5

-vy and -ngy mean “a little”. They soften a verb or a describing word.

How It Works

The ending -vy or -ngy says that an action or a quality is smaller than usual. It means “a little”, “somewhat” or “half”.

WordWith -vy or -ngy
puka “laugh”pukavy “smile”
hasy “it hurts”hasyvy “it hurts a little”
haku “hot”hakuvy “lukewarm”
hũ “black”hũngy “blackish”
hovy “blue”hovyngy “bluish”
ahecha “I see it”ahechangy “I glimpsed it”

You might expect -ngy only after nasal words, but speakers choose freely: hovy is not nasal, and it still takes -ngy. You will hear both forms.

The ending can also go on a whole verb to show how the speaker sees the action: nerasẽngy “you are a crybaby”.

Examples (4)

  1. Ahechangy.

    I glimpsed it.

    A-hecha-ngy: “I saw it a little”, a quick look.

  2. Che akevy.

    I am half asleep.

    Ke “sleep” plus -vy: dozing, not fully asleep.

  3. Ko ao hũngy.

    This piece of clothing is greyish.

    Hũ is “black”, and -ngy softens it.

  4. Ko y hakuvy.

    This water is lukewarm.

    Haku “hot” plus -vy: not hot, only warm.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-vy / -ngyLevel 5A Little: -vy and -ngy

Learn This First

The ending -vy makes something less, as -mi does, and it turns into -ngy after a nasal word.

Words in This Pattern

pukavy