-et, -on, -às

Diminutives and Augmentatives

Level 4

Add -et or -on to name a small version, and -às to name a big one.

How It Works

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-et, -eta	small	ostalet, libret, femneta
-on	small	ostalon, libron, vilatjon
-às, -assa	big	ostalàs, omenàs, vilatjàs

Each new word keeps the gender of the noun it comes from: lo libre gives lo libret and lo libron, and la femna gives la femneta.

The plural of the nouns in -às is -asses: ostalàs gives ostalasses.

The meaning can shift. Omenàs is a giant of a man, and vilatjàs is a large village. Learn them as new words. In a sentence, the new word sits where the old one did: un ostal becomes un ostalet.

Examples (5)

Joan demòra dins un ostalet pròche d'Albi.
Joan lives in a small house near Albi.
Ostalet is a small ostal.
Legissi un libron sus Tolosa.
I am reading a small book about Toulouse.
Libron is a small libre.
I a un ostalàs al cap de la carrièra.
There is a big house at the end of the street.
Ostalàs is a big ostal.
Sa filheta a tres ans.
Her little girl is three.
Filheta is the feminine -eta.
Aquel omenàs es mon fraire.
That big man is my brother.
Omenàs is a big òme.

Common Mistakes

Using the Spanish ending -ito.
Joan demòra dins un ostalito.
Joan demòra dins un ostalet.
Occitan writes -et, not -ito.

How It Connects

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

-et, -on, -àsLevel 4Diminutives and Augmentatives

Learn This First

Diminutives and augmentatives change a noun's ending and gender, so the gender of nouns comes first.

Gender of Nouns
Know the gender of nouns, because the new word keeps the gender of the noun, with -et becoming -eta and -às becoming -assa in the feminine: ostalet, filheta.
Level 1

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