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The diminutives: -ito, -ita, -illo, illa

Study the diminutives in Spanish to talk about something small or to emphasise affection.

Gramática: Los diminutivos: -ito, -ita, -illo, illa

A2 Spanish Diminutive

Level: A2

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Lesson 23: Direcciones del viento (Wind directions)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

Audio with translations
Audio with translations

  1. Diminutives are suffixes that we add to nouns or adjectives to indicate small size or affection.
  2. We add "ito/-a" to nouns or adjectives that end in a vowel, especially in "a" or "o".
  3. Other diminutives are "illo/-a".
Diminutivo (Diminutive)Ejemplo (Example)
-itoEl vientecito (viento)  es muy agradable  (The little breeze (wind) is very pleasant)
-itaLa casita (casa) estaba al lado del mar, con una vista preciosa
-illoEl mapa muestra un pueblillo (pueblo) en el sur
-illa¡La cascadilla (cascada) es perfecta! (The little waterfall (waterfall) is perfect!)

Exceptions!

  1. When a word ends in a consonant, vowels are usually added before the suffix. Example: flor => florecita.
  2. Some words change orthographically when adding diminutives. For example, fresco => fresquito.

Exercise 1: Los diminutivos: -ito, -ita, -illo, illa

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

pequeñita, islita, playita, ruidito, montañita, poquito, fresquito, vientito

1. Fresco:
Hoy el viento del sur está .
(Today the southern wind is a bit chilly.)
2. Montaña:
Una cerca de nuestro alojamiento.
(A small hill near our accommodation.)
3. Pequeña:
Esta isla se veía en el mapa, pero era muy bonita
(This island looked tiny on the map, but it was very pretty.)
4. Playa:
Una hermosa.
(A lovely little beach.)
5. Poco:
El viento movía la arena de la playa a .
(The wind was moving the sand on the beach little by little.)
6. Viento:
El del norte está más suave.
(The little breeze from the north is milder.)
7. Isla:
Cuando era niño, me gustaba caminar por la cerca del océano
(When I was a child, I liked to walk around the little island near the ocean.)
8. Ruido:
El de la fuente.
(The little sound of the fountain.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

fresquito

chilly

2

mapita

little map

3

ruidito

little sound

4

vientito

gentle breeze