Diminutives
A diminutive adds a suffix to a noun to make it small, cute or affectionate: stôl → stolík (little table), mama → mamička (mommy), mesto → mestečko (small town).
How It Works
Small, sweet or friendly. Slovak speakers use diminutives far more often than English speakers say "little". A diminutive can mean that something is small, that the speaker likes it, or just that the speaker wants to sound warm and polite: Dáte si kávičku? (Will you have a coffee?)
Suffixes by gender. The diminutive keeps the gender of the base noun:
- Masculine: -ík / -ik (stôl → stolík, kľúč → kľúčik), -ček (dom → domček, strom → stromček), -ok (kus → kúsok, zub → zúbok)
- Feminine: -ka (kniha → knižka, ruka → rúčka, noha → nôžka), -ička (mama → mamička, voda → vodička)
- Neuter: -ko (pivo → pivko, okno → okienko), -ečko / -iečko (mesto → mestečko, slnko → slniečko)
Sound changes. Before these suffixes k → č (ruka → rúčka), h → ž (kniha → knižka) and ch → š (ucho → uško). A short vowel often becomes long or a diphthong: kus → kúsok, noha → nôžka, okno → okienko. A long vowel can also get shorter: stôl → stolík.
The rhythmic law. After a long syllable, -ík becomes short -ik: kľúč → kľúčik, vták → vtáčik (see the rhythmic law).
Two steps. Many nouns have a second, even softer diminutive: stôl → stolík → stolíček, ruka → rúčka → ručička. Names work the same way: Ján → Janko, Zuzana → Zuzka, Eva → Evka, Evička.
Fixed meanings. Some diminutives have their own meaning: lyžička is a teaspoon, rúčka is also a handle, and okienko is also a service window at a post office or bank. The opposite of a diminutive is the augmentative -isko, as in psisko (a big dog).
Examples (6)
- Na stolíku stojí pohár vody.
There is a glass of water on the little table.
Word by Word: On little-table stands glass of-water.
Stolík is the diminutive of stôl.
- Bývame v malom domčeku pri lese.
We live in a small house by the forest.
Word by Word: We-live in small little-house by forest.
Domček stays masculine, like dom.
- Mamička, poď sa pozrieť!
Mommy, come and look!
Word by Word: Mommy, come to look!
- Narodila sa v malom mestečku na východe.
She was born in a small town in the east.
Word by Word: She-was-born in small little-town in east.
- Dáš si ešte jednu kávičku?
Will you have another coffee?
Word by Word: Will-you-give yourself still one little-coffee?
Kávička sounds friendly; it does not have to mean a small cup.
- Stratil som kľúčik od auta.
I lost my car key.
Word by Word: I-lost key(dim.) from car.
After the long kľú-, the suffix is short: -ik.
Common Mistakes
Changing the gender because of the new ending.
To je moja domček.To je môj domček.Domček comes from dom, so it stays masculine: môj domček. A diminutive always keeps the gender of its base noun.
Keeping -ík long after a long syllable.
Kde je môj kľúčík?Kde je môj kľúčik?Kľú- is long, so the rhythmic law shortens the next syllable: kľúčik, vtáčik.
Forgetting the consonant change before -ka.
Čítam knihku.Čítam knižku.Before -ka, h changes to ž: kniha → knižka. In the same way k changes to č: ruka → rúčka.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Diminutives, learn Noun Gender. Diminutive suffixes depend on the noun's gender.
Related Patterns
- The Rhythmic Law
Explains why kľúč gives kľúčik with a short -ik.
Level 1 - -iskoBig and Rough: -isko
The opposite idea: -isko makes things big or rough.
Level 6 - Vowels That Come and Go
The -ok and -ček suffixes lose their vowel in other cases: kúsok → kúska, domček → domčeka.
Level 3 - Adjective Agreement
Adjectives agree with the diminutive: malý stolík, malá knižka, malé mestečko.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice Diminutives in Bubblegum
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